Mushirul Hasan and BN Goswamy chat with Shana Maria Verghis about Daniells’ India, a book consisting 97 reproductions of exquisite aquatints, by a famous English uncle-nephew duo. These overtly peaceful images of the subcontinent have been preserved at the National Archives
Today is the last day in office for Mushirul, Director General at the National Archives of India. So the launch of Daniells’ India, View from the Eighteenth (Niyogi Books) is his “farewell gift” of sorts.
This coffee table item contains splendid copies of aquatints by two Englishmen, Thomas and William Daniell, who travelled across India between 1786-1794, and captured the landscape in sprawling images that gave great attention to detail.
The works were issued in six series of two sets that each had 12 views, and was produced in the wake of people who came before the Daniells, like William Hodges, who published his sceneries of the subcontinent under two sets called Select Views of India. The Daniells apparently didn’t think too highly of Hodges work and sought to improve on his work. However, it’s likely, thinks art historian BN Goswamy, who wrote the introduction to this pictorial book, that “they came under the influence of the Picturesque Movement, happening at the time, spearheaded by priest-writer, William Gilpin.”
Gilpin wrote an Essay on Prints, where he defined the picturesque, as “the kind of beauty that is agreeable in a picture.” Painting from nature was very in, as a reaction to the Romantic Age.
This aspect is apparent in the Daniells’ scenic backdrops; be it sacred trees in Bihar, mountain settings in Srinagar, majestic mausoleums in Delhi, even the Dasashvamedha Ghat in Benaras which all appear incredibly, even suspiciously, tranquil. The Daniells either had an overtly romantic view of things, even dissolving bustling human life into natural beauty and serenity, or history is lying through its teeth. Because its version of the story is that India faced a turbulent period at the time.
Goswamy concurred, “I’m bringing this aspect through in my lecture during the launch. Artists often do not represent things exactly the way the eye sees it. Things like scale are changed. Painters are not photographers. And although the Daniells were not propagandists from the East India Company, their view was certainly artificial.” He added, “Ruin in particular attracts painters. Italy was a favourite haunt at one time for this reason.”
Goswamy who holds a Tagore National Fellowship at Chandigarh University is working on a book about Manaku, the elder brother of the miniaturist, Nainsukh. He explained that it was customary during the Daniells’ time, to issue several series of aquatints on a subscription basis.
Incidentally, Mushirul Hasan told us some of William Hodges reproductions that lie in the archive will be published by BN Varma with a foreword by Bipin Chandra. And publisher Bikash Niyogi shared, “The British library will be bringing out another book on the Daniells, with the foreword by JP losty.”The originals of these aquatints are in various locations like Kolkata at the Victoria Memorial Museum and overseas.
Shaurya Sircar, who edited Daniells’ India informed us “These four aquatint sets are part of the Oriental Scenery series, which dates back to 1795, 1797, 1801 and 1807.” Mushirul Hasan recalled how the folios at the National Archives were “covered in dust,” and he “got them cleaned,” then starting the process of getting them printed three years back, by writing to various publishers. “They signed a contract with the archives who get the royalties.”
(caption spellings are as mentioned in the book)