The Repentant Gopi

George Keyt (1901–1993) was born in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and educated at Trinity College (Kandy), an elite colonial school in the British public school tradition. From a very early stage, the ancient hill capital and its Buddhist temples came to exercise a powerful and lasting influence on him, providing an artistic stimulus to his work. This interest spurred the young painter to reject the Western cultural values he had been brought up with and to explore Hindu mythology. This drawing, which depicts the mythical scene of 'The Repentant Gopi', reflects such fascination. The myth recounts how the young Krishna, by playing his flute in the forest, calls all the cowgirls (gopis), who all slip away from their husbands. After six months of erotic adventures, the disillusioned cowgirls return home and repent before their husbands.