Blindman's Bluff: Page From a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of Lord Vishnu)

Unknown Artist

Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Metropolitan Museum of Art

This vibrant folio page bursts with color as it depicts Krishna and his companions frolicking through a stylized Indian landscape, playing the childhood game of blindman's bluff among flowering trees, grazing cattle, and a lotus-filled river. Rendered in brilliant mineral pigments with flattened perspective and decorative patterning typical of Pahari painting traditions, the scene captures the playful, pastoral episodes of Krishna's youth as described in the beloved Hindu text the Bhagavata Purana. Figures in jewel-toned robes move gracefully across undulating green hills beneath a bold yellow sky band, while a canopied pavilion hints at divine presence amid everyday village life. This exquisite example of Indian manuscript illumination brings centuries-old devotional storytelling and joyful color into any modern space.