![Krishna and the Gopis Bathing in the River Yamuna, Illustration from a Harivamsa series, attributable to Purkhu - Kangra Painting, circa 1800-15](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincaQ5oLmMLMuy4qhkxZy4K_R1gVTya7wDMYQctRu6GuickqKJLBG0OhVU9-KUGrraG9Y9F6z0m_TXr9fnZcIVZWKygFtk5fGWqo3vLFoCItCMy2oKH8sFa9bO74f-vBBPnPQuhWWBPM1L/s0/Krishna+and+the+Gopis+Bathing+in+the+River+Yamuna%252C+Illustration+from+a+Harivamsa+series%252C+attributable+to+Purkhu+-+Kangra+Painting%252C+circa+1800-15.jpg)
This large and captivating painting of Krishna cavorting with the gopis in the Yamuna river is an illustration from the Harivamsa and can be associated with a dispersed series attributed by Goswamy and Fischer to Purkhu of Kangra. The Harivamsa, or genealogy of Hari, is a collection of stories mostly concerning the life of Krishna and is regarded as related to, and perhaps an appended part of, the Mahabharata.
Purkhu of Kangra (active circa 1780-1820) was the leading artist at the court of Raja Sansar Chand (r.1775-1823). He painted a number of large court scenes of the Kangra rulers and princes as well as several large-scale series illustrating various Hindu texts such as the Shiva Purana, the Rasikapriya, the Gita Govinda and the Harivamsa. Purkhu seems happiest when working in a large format and the series of manuscript illustrations attributed to him are among the largest in scale of the Pahari miniatures.
Credit: sothebys.com