New York's Metropolitan Museum showcases Hindu Lord Krishna

16 February, 2013

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York is displaying authoritative commentary on 16th century painting of Hindu Lord Krishna holding Mount Goverdhan, including an audio-visual essay and interactive feature.

This watercolor, "Krishna Holds Up Mount Govardhan to Shelter the Villagers of Braj", is a folio from a Harivamsa (1590–95). Met’s presentation lets the viewer take a closer look at the dense cast of characters in the painting by selecting hotspots. Curator is Navina Haidar.

Applauding Met for organizing Hinduism focused exhibit, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d'Orsay of Paris, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.

This painting is showcased under Met’s “82nd & Fifth”, yearlong multimedia online series featuring 100 works of art, launched on January 31.

Founded in 1870, Met, one of the top art museums of the world, has large collections of ancient art, including Greek, Roman and Near Eastern. The Met’s mission includes art that “collectively represent the broadest spectrum of human achievement”. Thomas P. Campbell is Met’s Director and CEO.