There is a wonderful exhibition currently showing at Delhi Art Gallery, featuring some of the beautiful drawings of Emily Eden.
Emily was the unmarried sister of Lord Auckland, who was Governor-General of India from 1836-1842, and she accompanied him on his posting. We learn that Emily was “one of the sharpest minds in the family (rather sharper than George) ” and her writing certainly confirms this, along with her witty and slightly sarcastic side.
Emily was an extremely talented artist, painting a wide range of subjects from princes to a servant’s toddler. You feel that she was interested in and fascinated by everything she saw, especially on the elaborately staged, ceremonial trips across the country.
She knew how to “present” her subject, sketching him or her in colour, often leaving the background in neutral tones:
The painting (below) is of Purtaub Singh, the grandson of Maharajah Ranjit Singh. Emily became very fond of the boy, and they remained in contact until the child was assassinated when he was just 12 years old.
Alongside the painting below, she discusses the extravagant bejewelled trappings of a Maharaja’s horse, noting “the jewels being chiefly emeralds of immense size and value, covering the forehead, and fastened on the front of the saddle…were said to have been worth above £300,000.”
Her acerbic side is revealed in her judgement of Raja Hindu Rao (below) who was well-liked by her brother, whereas Emily described him as “a plump featherbed, with pillows for his head and legs.”
She was fascinated by the animals she saw, like these hunting cheetahs (below) in their fancy coats, sent by the King of Oudh to accompany the Governor-General on his hunting trips:
Everything seems to have caught her interest. “Akalees or Immortals, Sikh religious devotees, being very wild in appearance, and turbulent characters.”
Tibetans:
And the dear little toddler, the little daughter of one of the staff at Government House in Calcutta, complete with her rattle:
I’ll end with a gorgeous drawing in one of her sketch books, when she was travelling to India :
This exhibition is beautifully presented, and has an almost intimate feel to it.
It is free, and I urge you to go see it before it ends on August 1st.
No-one at DAG knows that I blog and review.