View of Calcutta

William Hodges 1744 - 1797

Summary

A view from the side of a wide river to Calcutta which is in the distance on the opposite bank. Several boats are on the river: one in background in full sail; two small barges in foreground; one in the bottom left corner; and one nearer the centre. Several small thatched huts line the rounded river bank nearest the viewer, on the right, with tree branches overhanging them. A lone figure sits in front of the huts, near the water's edge, next to a small vessel pulled up on the shore. The blue sky has one particularly dark cloud in the top right.

Display Label

View of Calcutta about 1790 William Hodges 1744-1797 Oil on canvas Occasionally British artists travelled outside Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century. This was mainly under naval or scientific patronage: Hodges went to the South Seas with Cook in 1772. He was later commissioned to work in India by Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General. Here he drew and painted a number of views, many of which were later published as prints. While topographically accurate, his compositions reflect the harmonious landscapes of artists such as Claude Lorrain and Gaspard Poussin. Their influence was passed on by Richard Wilson, who was Hodges' teacher between 1758 and 1765. Gift Sir Thomas Barlow 1949.104