Exhibition on Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists: paintings and drawings from the V&A 1790 – 1927 begins at NGMA

The Secretary, Union Ministry of Culture Shri Jawhar Sircar here today inaugurated an exhibition, showcasing paintings and drawings by Western Artists from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. The Exhibition is being held at the National Gallery of Modern Art, in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

The exhibition which will be open for public from October 27-December 6, 2009 has a display of around 100 works drawn from the V&A’s collection by 20 Western artists depicting the architecture, landscape and people of India. On display are picturesque landscapes painted by Thomas and William Daniells (1790s) and William Carpenter’s detailed and animated scenes of everyday street life (1850s). A group of evocative watercolours by William Simpson which include images of the Taj Mahal, the Kailasanatha temple at Ellora and the Observatory in Delhi (1860s), are highlights of the show. Mediums used are Watercolour, Aquatint, Lithograph, oil painting. pen and pencil sketches.

The exhibition will be displayed chronologically in four sections:

1. A Picturesque Tour of India will look at the work produced by the first European artists to visit India who painted scenes based on direct observation. It will explore how European aesthetic ideals of the Picturesque were applied to Indian subject matter. This section includes work by Thomas and William Daniell, British artists who travelled widely across India between 1785 and 1794 painting temples, tombs and landscapes. It will also show work by Flemish artist Balthazar Solvyns who was captivated by the customs and festivals of the local inhabitants.

2. The Amateur Artist shows paintings and drawings by artists who did not make their living from their art. The works displayed range from landscapes to humorous caricatures of European society in India and are important as a record of personal experiences.

3. On display in Romanticism in India will be some of the most striking and evocative images of India painted by British artists in the 19th century. It will include Romanticised images of architectural landmarks such as William Simpson’s Taj Mahal.

4. The exhibition concludes with Realism and the Indian Student which explores the work of two British artists, John Griffiths and John Lockwood Kipling, who taught in European-style art schools across India in the mid 19th century. Their well-observed and precise studies of craftsmen and street scenes influenced a generation of Indian students.

The exhibition is supported by the World Collections Programme and will later move to Victoria Memorial Kolkata and Salarjung Museum Hyderabad.

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