Page 284 - Eye of the beholder

STreeT Scene JaiPur by edWin lord WeekS
Edwin Lord Weeks first traveled to India in in in in in 1882-83 and and again in in in in in 1892 He was a a a a a a a a a prolific painter and and according to to his his own letters spent every every day painting and every every night developing his his photographs which he probably used for for recording the architectural details and backgrounds for for his compositions The photographs and and preliminary studies were to to form the the basis for for many of his Indian and and other orientalist Capriccio paintings that were were executed much later Though the major corpus of Week's works were were sold in in in the the USA he he he also sold completed works in in in India Morocco and other destinations during this travels In In fact it is well known that paintings by Edwin Lord Weeks were a a a a a a a a a part of Maharaja Prodyot C Tagore's collection It is is is likely that this particular painting was sold by Weeks during the time of his his stay in in in in India The painting depicts 'Jaipore' a a a a a a a a city that that Weeks' is is is known to have visited and painted It is is is quite likely that that the the exact place depicted in in in in the the painting is an an imaginary one Weeks often used elements of of architecture and landscape from his his previous photographs and and preparatory sketches to to to build up a a a a a a a a a scene This is is is also a a a a a a a a a new hitherto unknown painting The provenance of this painting can be traced back to Satish Chandra Bose who was the district magistrate of of Bankura West Bengal in in the the early 1940s and before that the the district magistrate of of Darjeeling Satish Chandra Bose was the classmate of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee and and also well known to to Rabindranath Tagore and and and Prafulla Chandra Chandra Roy This painting was passed down from Satish Chandra Chandra Bose to his his son Saibal Bose who sold it it to the the previous owner from which it it ended up in the the Sadhu collection It is possible that the the painting was purchased by Satish Chandra Bose either directly from Edwin Lord Weeks or or came to his collection through another prominent collector Years of exposure to to heat dust and tropical humidity had taken a a a a a a a a a a a bad toll on the painting The canvas was covered with a a a a a a a a a thick layer of of grime and and had to go through a a a a a a a a a laborious process of of cleaning and and minor retouching before it it came back to to life Thereafter it it was framed in in a a a a a a a a specially designed slip and mounted on a a 17th century gilt frame 278