Paintings of India by American Artist Edwin Lord Weeks

 

 

On_The_River_Benares_ca_1883 

Edwin Lord Weeks was a gifted painter with remarkable skills. Weeks was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1849. He had a privileged upbringing and wealthy parents who supported his passion and artistic endeavors.

Edwin Lord Weeks

After his studies in Paris, Weeks emerged as one of America's major painters of Orientalist subjects. He had a passion for travelling. He journeyed to South America, Egypt, Persia, Morocco and India. 

Weeks made three visits to the Indian subcontinent during his lifetime. His first visit around 1883 resulted in one of his best-known masterpieces, The Arrival of Prince Humbert the Rajah at the Palace of Amber. Weeks visited India for the third and final time in 1892. He visited certain places multiple times to really immerse himself in his surroundings and accurately depicted their essence.

Weeks’ focus was on pre-colonial architecture. Through the use of vibrant colours, Weeks perfectly recreated bustling marketplaces, calm landscapes and architectural wonders. His ability to draw ethnic types without condescension or caricature, his skill in putting together grand compositions, his ability to tell convincing tales – all these skills make his paintings compelling. His wonderful eye for architecture, not just for its stylistic niceties, but also for its presence in sunlight, transmits a view of the past that has to be accepted as true.

 


A Rajah starting on a hunt.
1. A Rajah starting on a hunt
The Rajah at the Palace of Amber.

 2. The Rajah at the Palace of Amber.
The Lake at Oodeypore.

 3. The Lake at Udaipur.
A Rajah of Jodhpur.

 4. A Rajah of Jodhpur.
Feeding the Sacred Pigeons at Jaipur

5. Feeding the Sacred Pigeons at Jaipur
Native Gharry.

 6. Native Gharry.
Along the Ghats, Mathura.

 7. Along the Ghats, Mathura.
The Barge of the Maharajah of Benares.

 8. The Barge of the Maharajah of Benares.
The Festival at Fatehpur Sikri

 9. The Festival at Fatehpur Sikri
The Maharajah of Gwalior in front of his palace.

 10. The Maharajah of Gwalior in front of his palace.
Curiously Wrought Red Sandstone Arches, Fort Agra.

 11. Curiously Wrought Red Sandstone Arches, Fort Agra.
Departure for Hunt

 12. Departure for Hunt
A Royal Procession

 13. A Royal Procession
Mogul's Elephant

 14. Mogul's Elephant
A Street Scene

 15. A Street Scene
The Silk Merchants

 16. The Silk Merchants
The Metalsmith's Shop

 17. The Metalsmith's Shop
A Street Vendor

 18. A Street Vendor
Indian Barbers, Saharanpore

 19. Indian Barbers, Saharanpur
Dancing Girl

20. Dancing Girl
Water Carriers of the Ganges

 21. Water Carriers of the Ganges
An Indian Gharry

 22. An Indian Gharry
The Palace and the Lake at Sarket

 23. The Palace and the Lake at Sarket
A Street Market Scene

24. A Street Market Scene
Outside an Indian Dye House
25. Outside an Indian Dye House


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