Artwork

Krishna and Radha Avoid Embarrassment: Mottaita Bhava, from a Rasikapriya

Krishna and Radha Avoid Embarrassment: Mottaita Bhava, from a Rasikapriya is an unspecified painting by the Baroque artist Unknown. It dates from 1640 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

Both sides mirror each other in composition and hue, using bright blues and pinks to emphasize the scene’s playful tension.

This double‑sided painting, executed on a single leaf, depicts the Hindu deities Krishna and Radha concealed behind a tree while a curious onlooker peers from the foliage. Both sides mirror each other in composition and hue, using bright blues and pinks to emphasize the scene’s playful tension. The work illustrates a moment of romantic embarrassment, a theme drawn from the poetic collection Rasikapriya.

Subject & Meaning

The image captures a fleeting episode in which the lovers avoid a compromising encounter through clever concealment. By showing the same tableau from each partner’s perspective, the artist conveys that the feeling of embarrassment is shared, regardless of distance. The presence of the nosy friend underscores the social pressure that prompts the lovers’ evasive trickery.

Technique & Style

Rendered on a single leaf, the painting employs a symmetrical layout on both faces, reinforcing the emotional unity of the pair. The figures’ bodies curve in harmony with the surrounding branches, creating a visual echo between human form and nature. A limited palette of vivid blues and pinks highlights the garments and adds a lyrical quality to the scene.

Context

The work belongs to a series of illustrations accompanying verses in the Rasikapriya, a text that celebrates the awkward moments of love. Produced in the Malwa region of central India, the piece reflects local artistic conventions that favor double‑sided compositions for narrative depth, allowing viewers to contemplate both sides of a romantic encounter.