Northern India, Pahari kingdoms / c. 1790
Royal lovers watching rain clouds: The month of Bhadon, from a Barahmasa
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Royal lovers watching rain clouds: The month of Bhadon, from a Barahmasa as painting (Northern India, Pahari kingdoms · c. 1790).
The oval format became popular after the 1760s with the expansion of British presence in India.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper.
The museum's collection notes: A king enjoys a stormy evening in the women’s quarters of the palace. A woman guards the door; another holds the royal fly whisk. He gestures toward two women playing instruments, but the king and his beloved have eyes only for one another as they tenderly touch hands. This painting comes from a series that depicts scenes associated with each month of the Hindu calendar. Bhadon straddles August and September toward the end of the monsoon season when rivers are swollen, and rainstorms prevent travel and warfare. For this reason, men remain at home, and Bhadon is famed as a month for lovemaking.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtRoyal lovers watching rain clouds: The month of Bhadon, from a BarahmasaOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.