Gentoo Buildings from the River Hoogly, Calcutta
Plate 8 from Thomas Daniell's "Views of Calcutta" focuses on native buildings along the Hooghley River with colonial neo-classical structures and a church spire in the distance. Gentoo (or Gentu) was an Anglo-Indian term used at this date to describe non-Muslim native Indians, later supplanted by the more religiously specific HIndu.
In 1784 Thomas Daniel obtained permission from the East India Company to travel to India to work as an engraver, assisted by his nephew William. The pair reached Calcutta in 1786 and soon began to issue the first topographical prints of the colonial capital. Twelve etched and aquatinted “Views of Calcutta” were completed by 1788, printed and hand-colored by Indian assistants. The images proved immensely popular in India and Europe, and helped to launch a vogue for Indian ornament and design in Britain.
In 1784 Thomas Daniel obtained permission from the East India Company to travel to India to work as an engraver, assisted by his nephew William. The pair reached Calcutta in 1786 and soon began to issue the first topographical prints of the colonial capital. Twelve etched and aquatinted “Views of Calcutta” were completed by 1788, printed and hand-colored by Indian assistants. The images proved immensely popular in India and Europe, and helped to launch a vogue for Indian ornament and design in Britain.
Artwork Details
- Title: Gentoo Buildings from the River Hoogly, Calcutta
- Series/Portfolio: Views in Calcutta
- Artist and publisher: Thomas Daniell (British, Kingston-upon-Thames 1749–1840 London)
- Published in: Calcutta
- Date: 1788
- Medium: Hand-colored aquatint
- Dimensions: Sheet: 15 9/16 × 20 1/2 in. (39.5 × 52 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1966
- Object Number: 66.631.1(8)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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