View of the Kaiser Bagh in Lucknow
Painting
1864 (made)
1864 (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 battle scene at the Chaulakhi Kothi at the Kaiserbagh Palace Complex in Lucknow, India in 1864. The Kaiserbagh Palace was built between 1848 and 1850 for Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (r. 1847-56). It consisted of an immense courtyard surrounded by living quarters, royal mansions, baradaris (pillared pavilions) and cupolas. A large part of the Kaiserbagh Palace Complex was destroyed during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58 (known in India as the First War of Indian Independence) by the British. The scene is an imaginary one and was painted a few years after the events depicted.
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 battle scene at the Chaulakhi Kothi at the Kaiserbagh Palace Complex in Lucknow, India in 1864. The Kaiserbagh Palace was built between 1848 and 1850 for Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (r. 1847-56). It consisted of an immense courtyard surrounded by living quarters, royal mansions, baradaris (pillared pavilions) and cupolas. A large part of the Kaiserbagh Palace Complex was destroyed during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58 (known in India as the First War of Indian Independence) by the British. The scene is an imaginary one and was painted a few years after the events depicted.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | View of the Kaiser Bagh in Lucknow (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper |
Brief description | Painting of the Kaiserbagh Palace complex, Lucknow, by William Simpson, pencil and watercolour on paper, London, 1864 |
Physical description | Painting of a battle scene at the Chaulakhi Kothi at the Kaiserbagh Palace Complex in Lucknow, India. It shows the rebellion of Indian sepoys against the British East India Company officials. Several armed soldiers are in combat, while two men have fallen to the ground. Gold and silverware, presumably loot, fall out of an open trunk in the foreground. An eclectic structure with scalloped archways and fish reliefs, crowned with chattris (dome-shaped pavilions) – features typical of Indo-Islamic architecture is seen in the background. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | Kaiser Bagh, Lucknow. Wm. Simpson, 1864. |
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). |
Production | Lucknow |
Place 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 battle scene at the Chaulakhi Kothi at the Kaiserbagh Palace Complex in Lucknow, India in 1864. The Kaiserbagh Palace was built between 1848 and 1850 for Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (r. 1847-56). It consisted of an immense courtyard surrounded by living quarters, royal mansions, baradaris (pillared pavilions) and cupolas. A large part of the Kaiserbagh Palace Complex was destroyed during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58 (known in India as the First War of Indian Independence) by the British. The scene is an imaginary one and was painted a few years after the events depicted. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | 1156-1869 |
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Record created | January 22, 2003 |
Record URL |
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