Images of Radha and Krishna wearing each other’s clothes and grooming each other in role-reversal scenarios, such as in this painting, portray their divine love-play (lila) as archetypical female lovers (nayikas) and male lovers (nayakas) long described in the Indian literary tradition. They also brilliantly express the intrinsic identification of the worshiper and the worshiped as theorized in Vaishnava Bhaktism. The poetic verses in the header are drawn from the enormous corpus of the preeminent Hindi poet Sur Das (1478–1573): Darling, just a little, let me play your flute. The notes that you’ve been singing out, Love— let me produce them all. The jewelry you’ve been wearing, I’ll put on— and dress you up in mine. You’ll sit aloof, a woman angry with her lover; I’ll come and plead with you, touch your feet. You’ll retreat to a hut in the forest; I’ll tug at the edge of your clothes to lure you out. I’ll pull back the veil from the love of my life and hold you close, take you in my arms. You’ll be Radha; I’ll be Madhav [Krishna], Madhav— everything upside down. I’ll make a braid in the hair on your head and on that head I’ll place a crown. Lord of Sur Das [the poet], you’ll become Radhika and Radha—let me call her Nanda’s son [Krishna]. (Translation by John Stratton Hawley.) Additional folios from this dispersed set of illustrations to the Sur Sagar are in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (AS78-1980) and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (23.586). See also M.80.232.4.

• El Universo de la India: Obras Maestras del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, 2012.

• Markel, Stephen. "The Enigmatic Image: Curious Subjects in Indian Art." Asianart.com, July 28, 2015. http://asianart.com/articles/enigmatic.

   

• Rosenfield, John.  The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection.  Boston:  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.