'Bindrabun. India. Novr. 2d 1878'

Oil painting on paper by Marianne North of Vrindavan, dated 2 November 1878. Marianne North visited India in 1877-79 and completed over 200 paintings whilst there.

Vrindavan is a pilgrimage town situated on the right bank of the Yamuna river, north of Mathura. The place is related to the legends about the god Krishna who spent his youth in the forest as a cowherd with the gopis.

In her autobiography, 'Recollections of a happy life' of 1892, Marianne North wrote, "The temples of Brindaban were magnificent,- every variety of architecture and all sorts of fanciful styles surrounding a poor mud village. The right bank of the Jumna was lined with marble steps and balconies hanging over its waters. Many of the buildings were more like palaces than temples; others mere toy things with baby gardens- holy plants...Pilgrims were going in an endless procession from shrine to shrine, having fifteen miles to walk to visit all their holy places about Brindaban."