This illustrated book with over 350 engravings and photogravures, authored by the French polymath Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931), was published in 1887. Gustave Le Bon was sent to India by the Ministry of Public Instruction (now, Ministry of National Education), Government of France, to methodically research and report on the arts and culture of the… Read more »
This woodcut print by Chandan Bez Baruah (b. 1979) is titled ‘Somewhere in Northeast India Pt-I’ and was created in 2020. The desolation of Chandan Bez Baruah’s landscape speaks volumes. It bears witness to an ecosystem brutalised by rampant urbanisation. To the artist, there’s a close link between the collapsing of natural and political diversities… Read more »
This artwork titled ‘Shadows under my sky – 4’ is a woodblock created by Soghra Khurasani (b. 1983), contemporary artist based in Vadodara (Baroda), Gujarat. Landscapes are a significant feature in Soghra Khurasani’s work as inspiring, open spaces that can be explored. This woodblock was part of Khurasani’s solo show, Shadows under my sky, at… Read more »
It’s a word that makes us cringe today, but the ‘Orient’ was a place of infinite charm for artists of Victorian England. To them, the British colonies of the East were exotic regions of smouldering intrigue, where dark-eyed, inscrutable people went about their mysterious ways. Of course, now we know this attitude to be ignorant—at… Read more »
Sarmaya founder Paul Abraham on why the artist has a special place in our collection
Samuel Bourne was a banker with itchy feet. Paintings of India so enamoured him that he quit his job in Nottingham and arrived in Calcutta in 1863. Now regarded as one of the earliest travel photographers in the world, Bourne started exploring Indian landscapes in the hills of Shimla and spent months in Kashmir, returning… Read more »
This is an engraving after an older one by Jean Bellin, the official engraver and cartographer of the king of France. It is a town plan of Goa in the panorama view including mountains, trees, buildings, elephants, ships in the harbor, boats resting on the shore, and religious buildings. It depicts the fort of Goa,… Read more »
This Johnson and Henderson image shows the outer facade of one of the caves on the island of Elephant in Bombay. Originally called Gharapuri and identified as the capital of the Mauryas in the Konkan, the island is spread across two hillocks separated by a narrow valley and dotted with numerous archaeological remains going as… Read more »
Samuel Bourne’s Himalayan expedition was an arduous one as he pursued photography and documented the untouvhed landscapes and sights in India. This photograph from the 1860s shows the giant or King fern, flora typical to this region.
This is a photograph of the Nakki talao, Mount Abu, from James Burgess’ book ‘Photographs of Architecture and Scenery in Gujarat and Rajputana’ taken by Colin Murray in 1872. The hill station of Mount Abu is an important place of worship for Jain pilgrimages. It is a popular tourist attaraction, renowned for the group of… Read more »
Photograph of a glacier in Kashmir taken by Samuel Bourne in 1863. During his three Himalayan expeditions, Bourne photo documented landscapes in compoistions and artistic styles that appealed to the Victorian notions of the ‘picturesque’ and unusual landscapes such as this image formed a category in itself.
This photograph was taken by Samuel Bourne of the distinctive huts of a Toda Mund (village) at Ootacamund in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu. Traditionally pastoralist, the Todas in the past lived in thatched houses spread over the slopes of the Nilgiris. This picture is one of many examples of ethnographic photographs captured at… Read more »
This is a late 19th century photograph of the Shaniwar Wada in Pune by an unidentified photographer. Shaniwar Wada, was once the royal residence of the Peshwas. In 1828 a great fire started inside the palace complex tarnished most of the fort, leaving only the heavy granite ramparts, teak gateways and some building ruins. The… Read more »
This image shows a townscape interspersed with buildings and trees. The primary colours here are yellow, green, black and ash – while the signature ‘Souza-esque’ style of blunt, cruel humour is lent by the powerful strokes of green and yellow, fierce lines and bold swaths of ash. Souza believed that art offered the only respite… Read more »
This watercolour work by artist Badri Narayan (1929-2013) depicts a cluster of houses with a white unicorn in the foreground. Badri Narayan was entirely self-taught and his art betrays a deeply introspective gaze. All of his work was in some way or the other an exploration of the self. He was inspired by various movements… Read more »
This is an engraving on Hand-made paper, after Hilippus Baldaeus (1632 – 1672). Craganor is the Anglisised name of the region of Kodungallur, a municipality in the Thissur district of Kerala. In history, the place was one of the leading ports and commercial centres of South India, also associated with the ancient port town of… Read more »
This is an engraving of the hill fort of Vellore by J. Cheevers. The image shows a full-scale view of the fort, complete with walls and walkways leading up along the mountain. Vellore Fort is an important landmark in the history and culture of the state of Tamil Nadu, being built in the 16th century… Read more »