Description
A goddess who can fly, Mayavati brings her lover Pradyumna to be reunited with his parents for the first time since he was an infant, when he was kidnapped by a demon who was her husband. Having just slain the demon, they can be together and return to the palace where he was born. Pradyumna is the son of Krishna, and also an incarnation of the god of love, Kama. Mayavati is an incarnation of Rati, the goddess of erotic love. Later, Pradyumna also marries his cousin Rukmavati.
Provenance
(John D. MacDonald, Cambridge, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1973); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1973–)
Accession Number
1971.93
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Image: 28.1 x 38.5 cm (11 1/16 x 15 3/16 in.); Overall: 30.5 x 41.2 cm (12 x 16 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
