Henry Singleton’s painting of Tipu Sultan now in India

It is an art made from Deccan clay, but was painted in 1800 in Georgian London by an artist who had never visited India. And yet, in colors so gem-like and reminiscent of the subcontinent, Henry Singleton captures the last effort of the ruler of Mysore and the downfall of Tipu Sultan. In it, smoke splashes and horses and carcasses in British red-coats catch fire while rallying around a frightening standard of the Mysore army. In a scene depicting the fall of Srirangapatna in the Fourth Mysore War (1799), Tipu, a staunch enemy of the British East India Company, raises his sword, even as he meets his death.

The painting, intended for a British audience, spent its entire 200 years in England, but is now in India after the art company DAG, which collaborates with the Stellar Art Institutes, acquired it and an exhibition of 92 works with Tipu Sultan organised. ,

Why Tipu was the subject of colonial period art in the huge temple of kings? Giles Tillotson, Senior Vice President, Exhibition at DAG and Curator of Exhibition at The Claridge’s, New Delhi, says over the phone, “This was brought about by Ashish Anand’s acquisition of Singleton. [CEO, DAG], It is one of the most important historical paintings produced by a British artist on an Indian theme. Most of the work is in the public collection in the UK, at the India Office Library or at the V&A, but it was in private hands. As a registered antiquity purchased in London and imported into India, it would never leave the country again. Many other works around Tipu were issued as prints and are not so difficult to collect, such as the beautiful watercolors of the Coorgi king Dodda Veera Rajendra, who allied with the British against Tipu. And just like that, we had enough for an exhibition. ,

The Delivery Of The Definitive Treaty By The Hostage Princes In The Hands Of Lord Cornwallis By: Mather Brown | photo credit: special arrangement

Accompanying the exhibition is a book edited by Tillotson that introduces, illustrates and references this body of work. A portrait of Tipu by a Deccan artist showing him in profile, mustache, turban and jewel; This corresponds with Anand’s preface “His reputation remains controversial in some parts of the country and the exhibition does not claim to propose a definitive conclusion. But what cannot be disputed is that Tipu was the British in India.” was the most formidable enemy of the U.S., yet he was not given the same respect as was given to others who took up arms against the British in later times…”.

Aquatints, engravings, maps and lithographs by some of the most prolific painters to describe India from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s are part of the exhibition. Most show Tipu in the middle of the war.

“Tipu posed the most powerful challenge to the Company during its period of greatest territorial expansion; They would never have to face anything else on the same scale again until the Revolt of 1857,” Tillotson says.

The Storm of Seringapatam by Robert Kerr Porter | photo credit: special arrangement

The book, through five chapters and an exhaustive art catalog, draws attention to various aspects of Tipu. Janaki Nair, Professor of History, JNU, focuses on her role as a modernizer of military technology, revenue collection and sericulture. Tillotson examines Tipu’s development in painting and the British imagination, particularly Singleton, Mather Brown and Robert Kerr Porter. Savita Kumari, Assistant Professor, National Museum Institute, discusses the visual culture of Tipu’s court, and how the same battles, especially the Battle of Polilur in which the British were defeated, were depicted by local artists on the walls of their Darya Daulat Mahal. were painted in the form of murals. Based on archival documents, London-based historian Jennifer Howes has reconstructed the stories of women in Tipu’s court in such a way that for the first time these women have been identified in paintings. Aditi Majumdar, Senior Executive Curator of the DAG, writes about how eyewitnesses like Captain Munro saw the Battle of Srirangapatna.

Tillotson says, “The exhibition looks at how Tipu was perceived through art from the physical distance of space that the artist was subject to, as well as the distance of time that had elapsed 222 years. ” “Tipu is a sensitive subject in contemporary Indian cultural politics but it is not our attempt to assess it. It is triumphant art, the paintings symbolizing a British approach to an English victory. We have brought it to the modern Indian audience to see what they think about it.”

Tipu Sultan’s body was engraved by L. Schiavonetti, recognized by his family. photo credit: special arrangement

In the ongoing exhibition, against hard walls, Tipu’s life and his cosmic gardens, tombs and birthplaces are revealed. There are many variations to be found on the capture of Tipu’s sons by Cornwallis. A close contender for Singleton in terms of the way the narrative unfolds is a John Vandermini of Porter’s The Storming of Seringapatam. Porter painted the original in six weeks, and at 120 feet it could not fit into a room and had to be performed on the stage of the Lyceum Theater in London. The print consists of three sheets and the original which survives today was destroyed in the fire.

Bloody battles, breakdown of the fort, the theft of red coats and valiant men of Tipu, capture of the Sultan’s tiger-faced cannon, groans of death, outlines of mosque and temple in the distance, and offer stipple engraving in the background 18th century There is little more to the idea of ​​India in the sepia-hour of India’s cow dust in Britain.

The exhibition continues till 30 September at The Claridge’s, New Delhi. For details, dagworld.com or 011-39555375