How blue is Krishna? The Hindu god Krishna is most often depicted blue today, but in pre-modern Indian art his color varied considerably across periods and regions. In this lecture, discover the important role artists played—alongside the divine visions extoled in scriptures and the poetic, at times ecstatic, eulogies of devotees—in shaping how the deity was seen in specific historical contexts. Look carefully at the physical materials used in jewel-like courtly paintings to trace the innovations and interventions in “coloring the divine” employed by once-known artists in India.
Jinah Kim, George P. Bickford Professor of Indian and South Asian Art, Department of History of Art & Architecture, Harvard University
Ananda Coomaraswamy Annual Lecture
Sunday, May 17, 2026