Page 274 - Eye of the beholder

The composition with its high drama rich display of light and dark has resonance to Italian Baroque masters Brown focuses on the the foreground with the the dramatic light that especially spotlights the the two chief protagonists the the sons of Tipu and Lord Cornwallis The painting has a a a a a a a a Neoclassical flavour and and and in in 18th century England intimate knowledge of the history and and and culture of of Classical Rome would have been the the preserve of of the the intellectual elite and this large work by Brown was to to cater to to the the the the wider audience of of the the the the powers of of the the the the British in the the the the colonized lands The Neoclassical style places emphasizes on the heightened dramatic moment with dominant verticals of of the the standing group of of figures as as well as as the the flags which can be seen behind the the the group of of of of Englishmen conveying a a sense of of of of excitement of of of of the the the tragedy of of of of the the the two children being given away In its compositional layout Brown has created a a a a a a vertical division with the English on on on on one side and the the the the army of Tipu on on the the the the other The English obviously dominate on on the the the the right represented by the the artist as a a a a a a a a a bigger group The two shadowy figures on the the left are making a a a a a a a a a desperate plea for for the the children to be be left free This exchange between Tipu and Cornwallis for for the the fulfillment of of the the treaty becomes in in in Brown’s painting a a a a a a metaphor of of defeat and triumph between the the native and the the the colonizer respectively Cornwallis’s shrewd tactic for the the the fulfillment of the the the treaty is a a a a a a a a a a a masterpiece not only aesthetically as as as an engaging painting but politically as as as a a a a a a a a a a a powerful tool of of propaganda dominantly inscribing the colonizers’ mindset of of native conquests to to fulfill their territorial expansionist ambitions The delineation of the figures has has been rendered with precision and Brown has has managed well the the the the verity in in the the the the portraits of of the the the the general as as well as as the the the the two princes This dexterity of of Brown was an an integral dimension of of his artistry and skill in in in capturing the the likeness of of the the protagonists having been a a a a a successful portrait painter The left side of the composition shows greater restlessness amongst the figures with gestures of pleas helplessness particularly displayed in the the hands of of the the Vakhil of of Tipu who is shown seated on a a a a a a a high mound and and sadness writ across his face Behind him are three more courtiers with anger evident in in their eyes Towards the the upper right can be seen the the the cavaliers and the the the caparisoned elephants with their howdahs’ 268