A Serpent Protects Vasudeva Taking His Infant Son Krishna to Safetyc. 1890 · Study 2003.153

Context from the museum

In the dead of night, Krishna was born to parents who were imprisoned by his evil uncle, the usurper King Kamsa. While a goddess compelled the guards to sleep, Krishna’s father, Vasudeva, in the middle of a storm, spirited the newborn to safety in a cowherd village, where he exchanged Krishna for another infant. In the morning, Kamsa murdered the infant he thought was the child of Vasudeva, and Krishna lived to be raised by the herders.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

In the lower right, the name Vasudeva is written in the Bengali dialect as “Bashoodeva.”

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected painting only measurement for A Serpent Protects Vasudeva Taking His Infant Son Krishna to Safety is 27.7 cm wide and 45 cm high, equivalent to approximately 10.9 × 17.7 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.62:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.12 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 9.2% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 136.2 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With A Serpent Protects Vasudeva Taking His Infant Son Krishna to Safety in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Gum tempera, graphite, ink, and tin on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 27.7 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?