CC0 · no rights reserved
Heroine with attendant and a pair of deer
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A heroine’s ardor for her absent lover is so strong that it attracts a deer and doe, otherwise shy animals. The woman holding a stringed instrument at the right signals that this scene has a musical theme. Intensely staring gazes, the heroine’s elongated legs, the impossible turn of her head in the opposite direction as her feet, and the unaided dance of her hems add to the miraculous quality of the scene.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineHeroine with attendant and a pair of deer, c. 1710–20. Northern India, Pahari kingdoms. Gum tempera on paper; page: 21.9 x 15.6 cm (8 5/8 x 6 1/8 in.); image: 16.7 x 10.1 cm (6 9/16 x 4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2018.108
