Fifteen drawings of monuments in Agra, Delhi and Fatehpur Sikri.
Architectural Drawing
ca.1820 (drawn)
ca.1820 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
‘Company paintings' were produced by Indian artists for Europeans living and working in the Indian subcontinent, especially British employees of the East India Company. They represent a fusion of traditional Indian artistic styles with conventions and technical features borrowed from western art. This painting depicts the Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to commemorate his deceased wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Mumtaz Mahal ('Elect of the Palace'), who died in 1631, shortly after giving birth to their fourteenth child.
Work began in 1632, and the mausoleum was completed in 1653. When his son Aurangzeb seized the throne, Shah Jahan was imprisoned for the rest of his life in Agra Fort, from which he would gaze wistfully at the Taj Mahal in the distance. When he died, in January 1666, his body was interred there alongside that of his wife.
Work began in 1632, and the mausoleum was completed in 1653. When his son Aurangzeb seized the throne, Shah Jahan was imprisoned for the rest of his life in Agra Fort, from which he would gaze wistfully at the Taj Mahal in the distance. When he died, in January 1666, his body was interred there alongside that of his wife.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Fifteen drawings of monuments in Agra, Delhi and Fatehpur Sikri. (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper with embossed borders |
| Brief description | architectural; Paintings, watercolour paper, Delhi, 1820-25 |
| Physical description | View of the Taj Mahal, Agra, from the gateway, with trees in the garden. The paper has an embossed edge and narrow painted border. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | View of the Taj from the grand entrance (English; Roman; Front; ink; ca.1820) |
| Object history | Lord Amherst (2nd Baron, 1st Earl) was Governor-General of India from August 1823 to March 1828. Both he and his wife had a keen interest in India and Lady Amherst was a skilled watercolourist. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | ‘Company paintings' were produced by Indian artists for Europeans living and working in the Indian subcontinent, especially British employees of the East India Company. They represent a fusion of traditional Indian artistic styles with conventions and technical features borrowed from western art. This painting depicts the Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to commemorate his deceased wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Mumtaz Mahal ('Elect of the Palace'), who died in 1631, shortly after giving birth to their fourteenth child. Work began in 1632, and the mausoleum was completed in 1653. When his son Aurangzeb seized the throne, Shah Jahan was imprisoned for the rest of his life in Agra Fort, from which he would gaze wistfully at the Taj Mahal in the distance. When he died, in January 1666, his body was interred there alongside that of his wife. |
| Bibliographic reference | Archer, Mildred. Company Paintings Indian Paintings of the British period
Victoria and Albert Museum Indian Series London: Victoria and Albert Museum, Maplin Publishing, 1992 134 p. ISBN 0944142303 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.18-1964 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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