Rang Panchami

This oleograph of Krishna called "Rang Panchmi" by the artist Vasudeo H. Pandya, is printed in Germany in 1930. Rang Panchami, also known as Holi, is a popular Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring where people sing and dance and throw coloured water and fragrant powder (gulal) on each other. In the Braj region of India, where Radha and Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated in commemoration of their divine love for each other. In this oleograph, Krishna and the gopis are depicted playfully throwing coloured water on each other. Krishna is the god of compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities.
Vasudeo H. Pandya (1896-1970) was an Indian painter from Gujarat. He initially worked as a document copier in Bombay in a European firm, but became fascinated by the oleograph labels the goods came wrapped in, and began to paint emulating their style. He would later travel to Germany and have his works printed as oleographs, as Ravi Varma was doing at the time.