THOMAS DANIELL (BRITISH 1749-1840) AND WILLIAM DANIELL (BRITISH 1769-1837)
DUSASUMADE GAUT, BERNARES, UTTAR PRADESH
Watercolour and pencil, with watermark 'J WHITMAN'
Inscribed with title (to the mount); further inscribed and numbered '52' (verso)
37 x 54cm (14½ x 21¼ in.)
Provenance:
The collection of the artist
The Bromley-Davenport family, Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire
Thence by descent until 1951
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) 1952 - 1996
Sale, Christie's, London, India Observed , 24 September 1996, lot 22
Spink, London, No. K3 11110
A Private Collection
Exhibited:
London, Commonwealth Institute, 1960, No. 21
Washington D.C, Smithsonian Institute, 1962, No. 9
London, Spink and Son, 1974, No. 41
Literature:
Archer, M, Early Views of India: The Picturesque Journeys of Thomas and William Daniell 1786 - 1794 , Thames and Hudson, 1980, p. 123, ill. No. 71 (aquatint engraving for Part I, Oriental Scenery , No.16)
Engraved:
T. Daniell, aquatint engraving, May 1796, for Oriental Scenery , vol.I, No. 16
The Dasasamadhi Ghat is one of the five most celebrated places of pilgrimage in Bernares, and is where Brahma was said to have sacrificed ten horses. On 22 August 1812, Lady Nugent said of Bernares: 'The city is situated on a high semicircular bank and reaches down to the water's edge. Mosques, pagodas, temples, houses of different sorts - long flights of steps, leading to places of worship - the river, magnificently extended...nothing can be more striking and imposing than the first view of Bernares'. (Archer, p. 123)
The series of aquatints of India were published by Thomas and William Daniell between 1795 and 1810. At the time, the aquatint technique was very new in Britain, being introduced by Paul Sandy in 1775. These prints were engraved by the Daniells themselves from their own drawings and watercolours. The present lot is one of the watercolour sketches for number sixteen in Part I of the Oriental Scenery series.
In her book, Mildred Archer arranges the illustrations produced by the Daniells in order of their journey, rather than the order in which the aquatints were eventually published, often accompanied by unpublished quotes taken from the small octavo booklets of comments which Thomas Daniell issued with each part of Oriental Scenery . This places the creation of Dusasumade Gaut at circa 17-25 November 1789.
Thomas Daniell (1749-1840) was William's (1769 - 1837) uncle. After his father's death Wiliam's mother was left with five children and the burden of running the family pub, which had previously belonged to Thomas's father before passing to his brother. It is thought that Thomas took over responsibility for his nephew to help ease the pressures placed on his sister-in-law.
In 1784, when the pair left for India, they were relatively unknown. William was barely fifteen when the pair set sail, and despite having some success in London, in 1773 Thomas had entered the Royal Academy schools, exhibiting thirty pictures over the next decade or so, William had yet to decide what type of painter he should be.
When in 1781 he secured a commission for six paintings of West Wycombe Park, and went on to paint the landscapes of Somerset, Yorkshire, and Oxfordshire over the course of the following three years, he seems to have settled on landscapes. However, opportunities for landscape painters were few. As a result, most British artists focused on portraiture with Reynolds and Gainsborough as the leading names.
Fueled by the voyages of Captain Cook, it was also around this time that a general interest in the 'exotic', ''picturesque' and the 'sublime' was starting to creep in to British culture. A perfect backdrop then, for the Daniells to explore the opportunities on offer in this exciting new area of the world.
During this time, the East India Company had grown substantially and held increasing power in large areas of the British controlled subcontinent. As such, it was possible for English artists to travel freely, and rely on hospitality from fellow countrymen. In addition, many wealthy residents of the Presidency cities of Calcutta and Madras needed pictures to furnish their large mansions, with several artistic fortunes being made in India.
As was the case in Britain, of the well-established artists already working in India during the last quarter of the 18 th century, those such as Tilly Kettle, George Chinnery, Ozias Humphry, John Zoffany, and George Wilson almost all enjoyed their success by focusing on portraits. However, more interesting to Daniells was the landscape painter William Hodges (1744-97), who visited India between 1780 and 1783 and received the patronage of Augustus Cleveland, the District Officer of Bhagalpur.
Upon arriving in India, on 17 July 1786, Thomas placed an announcement in the Calcutta Chronical: 'Mr Daniell proposes to publish twelve views of Calcutta at twelve gold Mohurs the set, from complete plates and finished watercolours. The subscription list is open till Jan. 1, 1787'. Upon completing these twelve views, in 1788, the Daniells then travelled north to Sringar, taking in various stops, including at Bengal, Buxar, and Delhi, but without stopping at Benares. They journeyed up the country until April 1789, when in May of the same year they began their return journey. With less constraints due to hot weather, the Daniells were able to linger longer in areas which they had been forced to skip on their outward journey, and it was during this stage of their travels that the present lot was painted in Benares. They stayed here for around one week, and during this time witnessed an eclipse of the sun.
After returning to Calcutta in November 1791, the Daniells then headed south between March 1792 and February 1793, before spending a further six months travelling west before starting their journey home in 1794. By the time the Daniells returned to England in September 1794, they had been away for almost ten years and had completed hundreds of drawings and watercolours, many of which had been carefully annotated with names, places, and dates. These were used to create two series of twenty-four aquatints entitled Oriental Scenery: Twenty Four Views in Hindoostan . The first series, of which this lot is a sketch for plate 16, was published in England and Calcutta between March 1795 and January 1797, was dedicated to the Honourable Court of Directors of the East India Company. The second series was published between August 1797 and December 1798, dedicated to the Right Honourable Henry Dundas, President of the Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India. In addition, Thomas Daniell exhibited twelve, and William Daniell six, oils at the Royal Academy between 1795 and 1798. The pair went on to create further sets of aquatints well into the early 19 th century. For all their engravings, Thomas and William prepared all the plates themselves using sepia, grey and bluish grey, instead of the reddish-brown ink typically used in printing. In doing so, they were able to reproduce the original watercolours exactly.
For a condition report on this lot, please contact our Picture department directly, at pictures@dreweatts.com.
