‘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. Some Company paintings were specially commissioned, while others were virtually mass-produced and could be purchased in bazaars.

This Company painting is of particular interest because it depicts portions of the Red Fort at Agra that were destroyed after the uprising of 1857. It has been dated to about1803 on account of the presence in the foreground of British sepoys (Indian soldiers dressed and disciplined as Europeans). The great gun shown in the outer defences is the one that Lord Lake removed and attempted to take to Calcutta in 1803 after the fort had been captured; however, the river transport proved too difficult and the gun was abandoned in the mud. The picture may be a slightly modified copy of an earlier work of the late 18th century.