Kanpur, on the way down from Rishikesh
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Watercolor |
| Current Location: | British Library Collection |
| Location History: | 810s–1820s: Created and compiled into albums for Hastings after his journey. 19th–20th century: Passed down through the Hastings family and remained largely unseen for ~150 years. 1974: Some albums surfaced at auction revealing the artist’s identity. 1995: The main collection (including this work’s series) was acquired by the British Library. |
The painting is very pretty. The first thing that makes this painting noticeable is the brushwork and the beautiful use of the artist's watercolor techniques. It's blended enough to give this smoothness to the whole painting, but at the same time, the finer details, particularly of the temple, and the mosque. Even if we look at the boats, we can see the artist's mastery here as well. And if we look at the reflection of the painting that falls on the river. Plus, the wind is blowing, and even something like that has been captured beautifully in the painting. From the flags that are flowing, the trees and even the clouds, all portray the actual scenic reality of the ghat. He'd captured the atmosphere of the place remarkably, and the overall aesthetic attached to it makes it really pleasing, and also devotional to a certain aspect, to the eye.