Usha viewing the portrait of Aniruddha

ca. 1820

Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, Usha examines the portraits of the great personages of the universe in order to identify the young man with whom she has fallen in love in a dream. She is seated in a room attended by a maid and her sakhi companion), who hands her the portraits, including one of Balarama. Outside in the courtyard Usha is again shown, in conversation with her sakhi, while her friend Chitralekha, who painted the portraits, appears flying through the air to fetch Anirudha, following the discovery that he was the subject of Usha's dream. Illustration from an Aniruddha Usha series. The painting is surrounded by a dark blue band and an outer border of pink, flecked with a red stipple.