Page 262 - Eye of the beholder

As a a a a a a mark of desperation I turned to searching the the the internet hoping that either the the the digitized institutional collections or or some some private collectors would be able to to offer some some clues In the the last decade the the internet had become seminal in in in in in enabling the democratization of of art-historical knowledge Availability of of information in in in in in the the public domain has led to changes in in in in the the attribution of of known known paintings identification of of unknown works and some new art discoveries The later I I was soon to realize would would be a a a a a a a situation I I would would find myself fin in Quite by chance while scouring the the internet for any clue about about the the whereabouts of my painting I came across another painting by by the the same name and drawn by by Thomas Daniell ! (Figure 7)
The The British Library in in in London has in in in its collection some of of the best works of of colonial Indian art These include exquisite miniatures from the pre-mughal era manuscripts on palm leaf and paper as as well as as an an an extensive collection of sketches and and paintings related to colonial India Paintings by the the Daniells and and their predecessors are an an an important part of this this collection collection Among the many paintings in in in in this this collection collection was a a a a a a a a a preliminary sketch attributed to Thomas Daniell titled ‘ At Mugwaukul’ and having the the exact same dimensions as as the the painting in in in in my collection (30 8 by by 39 7 cms12 5 5 5 inches inches by by 15 5 5 5 inches) The photograph available on on the British Library website did not have a a a a a a very high resolution but it it left no no doubt that the the subject matter was the the same (see image) More importantly research already done by the the British council identified ‘Mugwaukul’ as the the present day town of ‘Mulbagal
(Mudalabaagilu)’ in in in Karnataka about 30 kms away Kolar by road The image in in in the British library drawing doubtlessly showed the the the same location as the the the one shown in in in in in in the the the painting painting in in in in in in my collection The two paintings however showed different different views because the the vantage points used in in the the two cases were different different The starkly rising cliff and the the quardrangular construction at its base was unmistakable in in both the the cases However while the the the the painting in in in in in my collection showed a a a a a frontal view of the the the the cliff the the the the drawing in in in in in the the the the British library collection collection showed a a a a a a a lateral view More importantly however the the drawing in in the the British library collection collection was a a a a a a a a preparatory sketch dated dated 24th April 1792 whereas the finished painting fin in in in my collection was dated dated 17th September 1792 Finally there was enough information available for for all all the the the the pieces of the the the the puzzle to to be put together The Daniells had started overland from Madras on the 9th April 1792 They covered a a a a a a a a a distance of about 11 km and and reached Perumbur on the the 11th April After passing through Kanchipuram and Vellore the the next documented stop was in in the the the region of of of the the the Baramahal hills on on the the the 10th April There are no published aquatints of of of any of of of the the the the the places the the the the the Daniells visited on their way from Madras till the the the the the time they reached Kolar It is is hard to believe that they did not stop to to sketch important landmarks like the the the magnificient temples in Kanchipuram or or the the the rugged terrain around the Baramahal hills The only logical conclusion is that sketches and watercolors drawn at at these places are still awaiting discovery and identification somewhere In fact an an oil painting by Thomas Daniell came up for auction at Christies in2000 Titled ‘Baramahal Hills’ this painting depicted one of the the the rock formations similar to the the the one shown in in in in in in the the the painting painting in in in in in in my collection Doubtlessly this oil painting painting must have been based on on a a a a a a a sketch or or watercolor that was made on on the spot 256