Page 248 - Eye of the beholder

Compositionally there is a balance between the geometry manifest in the buildings and the organicity evident in the various animals as the elephants, bullocks and horses as well as the representation of the human forms. The quality of draftsmanship is accurate, precise and perfect, imparting to the buildings its particular character of classicism. The postures of the men in most cases are stereotypical; that is to say that there were stockpile characters and forms which naturally found its way in the paintings in order to populate it and give it a sense of busy commercial Street. This employment of stock characters is also evident in many other works representing Calcutta by the Daniells’. The position of the sun in the sky is indicated by the shadows, which in this instance appears to be mid afternoon as the shadows are short and not lengthy, which otherwise would have suggested a sinking sun and evening time. The play of chiaroscuro is equally dramatic heightening the effect of bright mid afternoon light.
Aesthetically it is a beautiful aquatint offering visual delights of different and distinct type. The details of the parapet, the parasols near the bullock cart, the ladder carried by a man goading the elephant, the sun screens outside of the windows have been well thought out details to give it character. Yet one element conspicuous by its absence is the greenery, which perhaps was not part of the architectural groups.
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