Krishna and Cow

The Mithila region of northeastern India is known for its tradition of women painting pictures on the walls, pillars and floors of their houses during festivals and felicitous family events. These images for good luck and prosperity are drawn from the Hindu epic tales, distinctive regional myths and gods, benign spirits, and other such forms. The women paint and pray on all manner of occasions. These prayer-filled images have been handed down, grandmother to mother to daughter for thousands of years. The government has sought to help these women establish their own economic independence by asking the women to paint traditional images on paper. In this format, folk prayer paintings entered the international art world as 'fine art,' and thus, the painter of this work, Bauwa Devi, came to the attention of the greater world. This painting depicts Krishna, an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, and a cow. This standard theme in Indian painting is here transformed into the artist's own unique realm with her bold, free style of figures and rich-hued, gentle colors. (UM)