Page 255 - Eye of the beholder

The daniell'S Journey ThrouGh SouTh india in in The SuMMer of 1792 - a a a reSearch arTicle
Those of of us who were not born in in the the digital age remember the the soulful nostalgia of of looking at old pictures from holidays we we went on on long back These days days the arrival of digital cameras has largely trivialized this experience The rush of old memories that a a a a a a a poignant picture from the past generates is a a a a a a a rare feeling charged with emotion irrespective of whether the the journey in question was a a a a a a a real or or a a a a a a a metaphorical one For an art lover the the gravity of of this feeling is is is much more intense when the the journey in in in question is is is one of of the the the the most important from the the the the Indian art historical point of of view and the the the the image in in question is is by one of of the the the the most romanticized and important artists in in Indian art art For how many times does it happen in in the world of of art art or or or or more specifically in in in Indian art art that an an an important historical painting discovered hundreds of of years after its its execution execution can be attributed almost exactly to to its its date and place of execution execution based on on on historical information available to to to art scholars? This chapter is is is devoted to to to the real life story of one such discovery The trans-Indian journey undertaken by the the the Daniells in in the the the late 1700s is certainly one of the the the most important epic journeys of its kind ever undertaken and the painting featured here is is one such newly discovered work whose whereabouts can be deciphered with remarkable accuracy based on available data The The Daniells have been the the most romanticized among the the historically important Indian artists Their aquatints have been continuously popular ever since their first publication in in in 1795 The uncle nephew duo of Thomas and and William Daniell are held important by scholars in in India as as as well well as as as in in England Beyond that as as as well well their work has been researched and avidly collected by aficionados all over the world For many students of Indian art art a a a a a a a a a subconscious belief exists that colonial Indian art art as if begins with and is is centered on on on the Daniells Curiously though the the the the Daniells were not the the the the first British artists to set foot in India On the the the the contrary their journey to to India India was motivated and inspired by the success of earlier artists that had come to to India India Tilly Kettle the earliest known British painter to set foot in in in in India had arrived in in in in Madras in in in in 1769 His oeuvre executed primarily in Madras Faizabad and and Calcutta is highly regarded and and well recorded Geroge Wilson another early British artist had worked under the the nawab of Carnatic from 1774 to 1788 before returning to to to Britain Stories of of the the the success of of these artists had had made news in in England and and had had encouraged others to to to follow suit By 1785 when the the the Daniells set sail for India there were other artists of British provenance who were already active in in in in India – Johann Zoffany George Farington and Charles Smith being prominent among them There was money to to be made by pandering to to the the the the narcissistic urges of the the the the rulers and and and the the the the nobility and and and these these artists artists mostly catered to this market As a a a a a a a a result most most of these these artists artists were primarily portrait painters though landscapes executed by many of of them testify to a a a a high degree of of skill 249