A Buddhist Stupa in Manikiala
Painting
1863 (made)
1863 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
William Simpson (1823 - 1899) was a distinguished watercolourist and war artist. Having established his reputation by documenting the Crimean war in 1854, Day and Sons, the London lithography firm, commissioned him to sketch well-known sites in and around Delhi associated with the Revolt of 1857 by Indians against the rule of the British East India Company.
Simpson arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1859 and travelled widely. His rapid pencil drawings formed the preparatory studies for his finished watercolours done after his return to London in 1862. His detailed journal, sketches and pictures from India resulted in these highly coloured, evocative, and romantic interpretations of the landscape and architecture.
Simpson completed the painting of the Buddhist stupa of Manikiala, Punjab, in London in 1863. In his autobiography, Simpson notes – ‘I sketched the monument, and made notes of its details. It had been such a short time in India that I had acquired almost no knowledge of Hindu or Buddhist architecture, and I was perfectly unconscious of any question as to Greek architecture having reached the Punjab. In my diary, however, written at that time I mention that the mouldings “seemed almost pure Greek.”’
Simpson arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1859 and travelled widely. His rapid pencil drawings formed the preparatory studies for his finished watercolours done after his return to London in 1862. His detailed journal, sketches and pictures from India resulted in these highly coloured, evocative, and romantic interpretations of the landscape and architecture.
Simpson completed the painting of the Buddhist stupa of Manikiala, Punjab, in London in 1863. In his autobiography, Simpson notes – ‘I sketched the monument, and made notes of its details. It had been such a short time in India that I had acquired almost no knowledge of Hindu or Buddhist architecture, and I was perfectly unconscious of any question as to Greek architecture having reached the Punjab. In my diary, however, written at that time I mention that the mouldings “seemed almost pure Greek.”’
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | A Buddhist Stupa in Manikiala (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Painting of the Buddhist stupa of Manikiala, Punjab, by William Simpson, pencil and watercolour on paper, London, 1863 |
| Physical description | A Buddhist Stupa in Manikiala, a village of India, in Rawalpindi district of the Punjab. It contains one of the largest stupas or Buddhist memorial shrines in North India. The stupa was excavated by General Cort in 1834, and has been identified by Sir A. Cunningham with the scene of Buddha’s “body-offering.” |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Purchased from Messrs Day and Son Ltd (London) in 1869 |
| Object history | Simpson, William (1823-1899). Painter and lithographer. Simpson was apprenticed to a lithographer in Glasgow and in 1851 came to London where he made views of the Great Exhibition. He became well known for his paintings with commissions by Queen Victoria to paint various important events in her reign. In 1859 the publishers, Day and Son, commissioned him to make drawings of India. On his return he produced "India, ancient and modern" (London, 1867), a series of illustrations of the country and its people. Later in 1876, he accompanied the Prince of Wales to India and published "Shikare and Tomasha, a souvenir of the visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to India (London, 1876). |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | William Simpson (1823 - 1899) was a distinguished watercolourist and war artist. Having established his reputation by documenting the Crimean war in 1854, Day and Sons, the London lithography firm, commissioned him to sketch well-known sites in and around Delhi associated with the Revolt of 1857 by Indians against the rule of the British East India Company. Simpson arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1859 and travelled widely. His rapid pencil drawings formed the preparatory studies for his finished watercolours done after his return to London in 1862. His detailed journal, sketches and pictures from India resulted in these highly coloured, evocative, and romantic interpretations of the landscape and architecture. Simpson completed the painting of the Buddhist stupa of Manikiala, Punjab, in London in 1863. In his autobiography, Simpson notes – ‘I sketched the monument, and made notes of its details. It had been such a short time in India that I had acquired almost no knowledge of Hindu or Buddhist architecture, and I was perfectly unconscious of any question as to Greek architecture having reached the Punjab. In my diary, however, written at that time I mention that the mouldings “seemed almost pure Greek.”’ |
| Bibliographic reference | Registered File number RF/1869/6716 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1144-1869 |
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| Record created | January 22, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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