Krishna conversing with his family, Scene from the Bhagavata - Lot 195

Krishna conversing with his family, Scene from the Bhagavata Purana, North India, Pahari School, Kangra or Guler, mid-18th century Pencil and black ink drawing on paper depicting a crowned Krishna, surrounded by his cowherds recognizable by their headgear and cane, and his brother Balarama, speaking to a bearded man, probably his father Vasudeva, surrounded by two men and two women. In the background, an architectural landscape with buildings and two cattle lying at the foot of a tree. An inscription in devanagari is visible on the door of a building. A black outline delimits the scene. 23 x 28.1 cm Folio cut out, small holes filled (restorations), paper curled, small tears at edges. Drawings 194 and 195 are closely related in technique, style and format to drawings by the artist Manaku de Guler (c. 1704 - 1761/62), such as those in the San Diego Museum of Art from the Edwin Binney Collection (1990.1237 and 1990. 1238) and a whole series in the Rietberg Museum, Zurich (e.g. 2005. 100-105). All appear to have illustrated a Bhagavata Purana, the sacred Hindu book for devotees of Vishnu, said to have been produced by the artist in Guler around 1740, an attribution it is tempting to propose for these two drawings.