Page 256 - Eye of the beholder

Though the the the the Daniells were were among the the the the pioneer artists that captured the the the the varied landscape of India they were were not the first to to embark on an epic journey of this type The credit for that goes to to William Hodges who visited India between 1780 and and 1783 Hodges was a a a a a a a a a a a a a a seasoned traveler artist and and had accompanied Captain Thomas Cook on on his second voyage to the Pacific between 1772 and 1775 The political geography of India was in a a a a a a a a flux during the period of Hodges stay in in India This coupled with his his ill health seems to have vastly restricted Hodges extent of of travel within India Under the the patronage of of Warren Hastings the the first Governer General of India he he was able to travel across vast areas in in in Bengal and the region around Rajmahal Paintings done by William Hodges during his stay in in in Bhagalpur have surfaced in in in the secondary art market few years back However his access to to the the the south of the the the country and and to to the the the region around Delhi and and upwards was considerably restricted due to the the the the battles the the the the British were fighting with with Tipu Sultan in in the the the the south and with with the the the the Marathas in the north Perhaps the the the the the only way in in which the the the the the Daniells were unique was in in the the the the the prolific output of their oeuvre and the the the the the span of of the the the the country they covered in in in in their journey They had come to India with the the the the sole intention of of painting India in in in in all its variety In In the the the internecine period since the the the departure of of William Hodges the the the balance of of political power in in Indian had shifted in in favor of of the the British As a a a a a a a result the the Daniells got unfettered access to parts of of India India where Hodges could not set foot Armed with an an ambition to seek money and fame in India India loaded with with abundant supplies to ensure this destiny and with with geopolitical conditions in in their favor the the Daniells were to eventually produce an an an oeuvre of of more than a a a a a a a a a thousand individual original works of of art including all all the the the studies preliminary & finished sketches complete watercolors and the the the oil paintings that they executed In hindsight the the the Daniell’s rise to to to fame had a a a a a lot to to to do with their being present at the the the right time in in in history at the the the the the right place The evolving tastes of the the the the the times favored them With the the the the the victory over over Tipu and over over the the the the the Marathas the the British had had been able to to consolidate their power base in India The victory over Tipu itself had had become the stuff of of heroic lore back at at home in in Britain and and had given rise to a a a a a a a a a a a great deal of of awareness and and curiosity about India As the the British empire was was increasing in in in in in its span there was was also a a a a a a a a a greater interest in in in in in art and and and and and architecture and and and and and landscape of lands lands far away with a a a a a a a a a a a a focus on the the ‘sublime’ and and and and and the the ‘picturesque’ Unlike their predecessors in in India India who were primarily catering to the the need of wealthy Indians for portraits the the the the Daniells focus was on the the the the ‘sublime’ and and the the the the ‘picturesque’ in the the the the landscape Opportunities for someone new to to break into the English art establishment successfully at this time were few and and and and and far between Landscape painters from mainland Europe were popular in in in England and and and and and the field of of portraiture was dominated by Reynolds Gainsborough and their ateliers News coming out of of India beckoned an an ambitious young artist wanting to to to be be successful There were other examples closer to to to home too In 1781 Richard Bartwell the son of of an erstwhile Governer of of Fort William in in Calcutta came to settle down in in the the Abbey House in in Chertsey where Thomas Daniell originally belonged It was rumored that his father had come back to England from India with a a a a a a personal fortune of 400 000 British pounds – an an incredulous figure for that time With all of this happening in in the backdrop Thomas Daniell (1749 to 1840) and his his younger nephew William Daniell (1769 to 1837) set sail for India on 7th April 1785 250