Page 240 - Eye of the beholder

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Thomas Daniell worked within the the convention of the the classical ideal landscape employing a a a a a a a a style of cool limpid realism to endow his scenes with calm majesty serenity and order But the the the arresting dimension of his works was the the the subject matter Searching always for the the the Sublime and and the the Beautiful the the Daniells generally portrayed grandiose views carefully framed with palm and and banyan trees and and on on on at least one occasion enhanced the beauty of a a a a a a a a a a a scene with the the the addition of a a a a a a a temple The Daniells composed their Indian landscapes to render the the the places they saw in India as as literally and accurately as as possible Part of of of the the the lure of of of India was its strangeness and a a a a a a a a a fascination with the the the exotic part of of of the the the picturesque picturesque repertoire Yet the treatment of Indian subjects in a a a a a picturesque picturesque manner was tempered rather than exaggerating exoticism making them conform to a a a a a a a set of values derived from European art While Hodges architectural forms had been an an intellectual pursuit for the the Daniells’ buildings were were picturesque antiquities and were were responsible about the the information on on on Indian architectural forms and the subsequent incorporation of new elements into British architecture While Hodges had a a a a a a a personal view of India the Daniells’ emphasized the the grandeur the the nobility and and its majesty The Daniells’ were in South Africa before their journey to India In In short the the picturesque was not simply an an aesthetic that was carried from the the the English Lake District to Table Bay and the the the Ganges River but developed through through contact with non-English regions and moved throughout the the British Empire without at times tempering the the exotic providing a a a a a measure of familiarity for would-be travelers Daniells’ work contributed greatly to creating the image of British India as a a a a a a a a rich land of of romantic glory giving the the the people of of Britain their first accurate look at at the the the exotic sub-continent Their great achievement lies in in in in satisfying the the European craving for the the picturesque while remaining responsible and accurate to their subjects According to Anirban Sadhu “I had started getting interested in in in in the the work of the the Daniells almost from the same time I I started developing an interest in in in art art history This was way before I I had the means of of of buying any any art of of of any any sort In those days I I used to be a a a a a a a student of of of Molecular Biology at at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai The TIFR was known for its vast and impressive collection of post-independence modern Indian art The founding director of of TIFR Dr Homi J J Bhabha under the patronage of of Jawaharlal Nehru had created a a a a a a a a a a a substantial collection of the the the best contemporary works from the the the 1950s to the the the 1970s Paintings by Ara Mehta Gade and Husain lined the the the walls of of the the the corridors of of the the the Institution at a a a a a a a a time when few were aware about modern Indian artists artists and and their works and and these artists artists had not yet started commanding the the the the prices that they would in in in the the the the coming decades Among these paintings was was the biggest ever Husain that I have seen till date This was was a a a a a a a a a huge painting painting 20’ in in in in in in length length completely dominating the the the entire length length of of the the the corridor of of the the the mezzanine floor leading to the the central library There were few amongst us who had an interest in in in other disciplines beyond the the narrow confines of our own research and that was was modern art which was was the the only visuality for us us Nor were any useful books available readily in those days to educate one about arts Sadly the the situation hasn’t changed much for the the better twenty years on”