Looking back at the history of Calcutta, it was nothing short of a potpourri of different foreign presence. From the Dutch, French, British, Portuguese, to the Jews, Armenian, Scottish and Greeks, people of all nationalities had called it home during the pre-colonial and colonial period. The same is true for all over India. Apart from the Company Officials, major communities of people who came from different countries and wandered around the sub-continent were the artists.
They painted, sketched and etched not just the landscape for their respective communities but the people that their eyes perceived. Titled, Destination India: Foreign Artists in India, 1857-1947 and hosted in collaboration with Alipore Museum Kolkata, this exhibition is a look at India, through the eyes of the foreign artists from the Revolt of 1857 to Indian Independence, a timeline spanning a century.
Upon entering the gallery, one would be greeted by paintings of artists like John Griffiths, Charles William Bartlett, William Carpenter, Edward Lear, Marius Bauer and others. They had travelled to India from countries like Germany, Holland, Denmark, France, America, and Japan, apart from Britain. Curated by Giles Tillotson, the exhibition focuses on the brilliance of the new generation of Orientalist artists who captured the beauty and nuances of the country like never before.
One of the most intriguing points about these artists was that their canvases took shape among the locals. From the paintings hung on the walls, one can decipher how much the colours of a bazaar, the quiet riverside, the jharokha of a haveli, the humdrum of a ghat, the towering steps of a temple, the reflection of the Taj Mahal, or the shades of Indian professions like a snake charmer or a instrumentalist allured them.
Destination India is more about the locals or Indians rather than the landscape and infrastructure. Through the eyes of nearly 40 artists, the viewers get to see an India lesser portrayed in colonial images. Combining ideas of romanticism, perception, and personal prejudice these paintings are a reminder that as times progress, it paves a path for the new to emerge, and even amongst contemporary, there is space and audience for the past.
Destination India is on display at Alipore Museum Kolkata till May 2, 2026
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