Fishes Of India: Calcutta School 1804 - 1810

Opening Saturday September 18 and on view through Monday October 25, 2004 The Drawing Room will present "Fishes of India: Calcutta School 1804-1810", zoological paintings on paper of fish from the Bengal and the Ganges Rivers as they were documented in the early nineteenth century by Muslim artists trained in the miniature technique characteristic of the Mughal court. These Company School drawings were commissioned by British and French trading company officials during the colonial period in India. The European opportunists settling in India were passionate to record the beauty and curiosity of their new territories leading to a fascinating crosscultural collaboration between the colonists and the well trained, native artists in India. The artful evidence was brought back to universities, libraries and drawing rooms at home.

The exhibition presents fish from two collections: The Fishes of India and Bengal River Fish. The Fishes of India comprises 20 watercolor and gouache paintings of small fish recorded with breathtaking beauty and detail on large sheets of European watercolor paper. Tiny iridescent minnows, transparent pink eels and grumpy bottom fish are singled out and drawn in flat profile in the center of each page. Each fish appears to be in its element, swimming from left to right across the white paper. These images are of special interest for their fresh beauty and the modesty of their powerful technique.

See below for full press release.