The Fort of Vellore in the Carnatic
Thomas Daniell, RA (Kingston upon Thames 1749 - London 1840)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1815 (signed and dated)
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
749 x 972 mm (29 1/2 x 38 1/4 in)
Place of origin
India
Order this imageCollection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 732241
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Fort of Vellore in the Carnatic by Thomas Daniell, RA (Chertsey 1749 – Kensington 1840), signed and dated 1815. The picture shows a view of the fort, surrounded by jungle and hills, and a temple in the centre, that was built around 1566 in Vellore city, near Chennai (Madras) in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. From around 1760 the fort was in British possession until Indian independence. It also contains a mosque, church, as well as a Christian hospital which may be the building seen on the right. At the time the picture was painted the last ruling monarch of Sri Lanka was imprisoned there in exile with his family until his death 17 years later. On a path in the foreground are an elephant and possibly the royal entourage.
Provenance
Acquired by Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 2nd Bt (1758 – 1838); given to the National Trust along with the house, its grounds, and the rest of the contents by Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Bt (1865 – 1947) in 1946
Credit line
Stourhead, The Hoare Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Recto: Signed and dated T.Daniell 1815 Verso: In pencil on back of frame: Right handside of large window
Makers and roles
Thomas Daniell, RA (Kingston upon Thames 1749 - London 1840), artist
References
Museo d'arte della Svizzera italiana (2017): On the paths of the enlightenment: the myth of India in Western culture 1808--2017 (exh. cat.), Milano: Skira, 2017.