Jantar Mantar through the eyes of a brit, 200 years back

Updated On: 26 October, 2009 09:10 AM IST | | Ishita Sharma

And other rare works wait to be viewed at an exhibition that opens a western window into Indian life

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And other rare works wait to be viewed at an exhibition that opens a western window into Indian life

We've been there, done that.u00a0Chronicled ancient India in pictures, that is. But while we were at it, keen viewers from the West, too, were painting their own picture of our world. More than two hundred years later, it has come alive in the capital, thanks to the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). Here's unveiling a rare collection of art from Victoria And Albert Museum, London, titled Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists.

Observatory, indeed: An Eighteenth century painting by William Simpson of Britain

Holding the four
The exhibition is about interesting watercolours, sketches, aqua tints, lithographs and engravings by European artists who visited India between the Eighteenth and Twentieth centuries. It is divided into four sections that depict the various schools of art prevalent in those times. The exhibit begins with a tour of India through dramatic pictures of splendid forts, temples and palaces. The second section showcases works by amateur artists who were captivated by the landscape and architecture of the then land of snake-charmers. The third section is dedicated to Romanticism, and characterised by decorative paintings that stemu00a0 entirely from the imagination.
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Finally, the fourth section includes realism as indulged in, through figure drawing.