THE British who
came to India as traders, eventually emerged as a
dominant political power by the end of 18th
century. The prospect of fame and fortune also
lured the British artists who began arriving here
from the 1760s onwards. Until then, there was no
visual record of the Indian panorama based on
first-hand observations. While artists applied
their talents to landscape painting, the
portraits of the elite or pictures of historical
events of imperial interest, there were some with
a different bent of mind. They were perceptive
and sincerely responsive to the sights and sounds
and the colour and shapes of their environment.
They were struck by the exotic people of India,
particularly the native women whom they depicted
with utmost fidelity and dazzling detail.
THE British who
came to India as traders, eventually emerged as a
dominant political power by the end of 18th
century. The prospect of fame and fortune also
lured the British artists who began arriving here
from the 1760s onwards. Until then, there was no
visual record of the Indian panorama based on
first-hand observations. While artists applied
their talents to landscape painting, the
portraits of the elite or pictures of historical
events of imperial interest, there were some with
a different bent of mind. They were perceptive
and sincerely responsive to the sights and sounds
and the colour and shapes of their environment.
They were struck by the exotic people of India,
particularly the native women whom they depicted
with utmost fidelity and dazzling detail.
