Emily Eden: The Englishwoman Who Sketched India Before Photography
An Englishwoman who sketched India before photography took hold
As a British artist accompanying my brother, the Governor-General, I traveled across northern India in the 1830s, sketching princes, servants, and warriors with curious precision. My drawings captured a subcontinent on the brink of profound change, offering a rare visual record before photography took hold. Though I initially struggled with homesickness, my observations evolved into a celebrated collection of portraits that documented the diverse people and landscapes of the empire.
We mean to keep our steamer here and to go out sketching in it.
- pm90
Besides the sketches, she has written extensively about Indian rulers at the time (e.g. Ranjit Singh). If you found this interesting, you would love the Empire Podcast... I believe they talk about Emily in the episode on Afghanistan (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/79-invading-afghanista...); Dalrymple's book on the subject (Return of a King, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_of_a_King) is also a masterfully well researched, delightful read.
- js2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Eden
> Her book, Portraits of the Princes and People of India, was published in 1844. It contained 24 lithographs that were drawn from her sketches of important Indian subjects such as Dost Mahomed Khan and Ranjit Singh.
https://www.rct.uk/collection/1070252/portraits-of-the-princ...
- zkmon
The English those days had some raw skills and strength. Jim Corbett traveled from Englad on a request to hunt a tiger, camped in the forest on a tree in the nights to deal with the beast. CP Brown studied Telugu and South Indian languages in a high detail. So many other Emglish men impacted India in many ways - irrigation, engineering and adminitrative framework etc. Second world War changed the course.
- ks2048
Amazing work and historical artifacts.
Something about this era - I have an interest in Frederick Catherwood and his work at basically the same time in mesoamerica (although he focused more on ruins than modern people), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Catherwood
- JR1427
If you like this, check out the amazing works of Edwin Lord Weeks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Lord_Weeks