Thomas Daniell: A scenic expedition through the Ellora caves

Manjari Sihare of Saffronart traces Thomas Daniell’s love for architecture through his late 18^th century paintings of the Ellora caves

New York: Celebrated English Romantic painter, J.M.W. Turner (after whom the Turner Prize is named) once remarked, “In the view of Thomas Daniell, the East was clearly reflected as the moon in a lake.”Such is the character of Thomas Daniell’s topographical prints of Indian landscapes and architecture from his Oriental Scenery series (LINK TO BETTA’S POST) that he and his nephew, William, drew on their travels through India at the close of the eighteenth century. The Daniells set off from England in 1785 to complete three tours around India: up the Ganges river from Calcutta to Srinagar (1788 – 91), a circular tour around Mysore from Madras (1792 – 93) and finally on their return journey to England in 1793, visiting Bombay and it’s off- shoots.

Thomas Daniell, Gate of the Tomb of the Emperor Akbar at Secundra, near Agra.
Hand-coloured aquatint
From "Oriental Scenery", November 1795
Image credit: Royal Academy of Arts, London

Thomas Daniell admired Indian architecture, and his enthusiasm to find classical beautiful scenes has been documented in William Daniell’s journal entry for the day they spent by the Tomb of Akbar, "Un[cle] Employed the Whole Day drawing the Gates (in the Camera) leading to the Tomb of Akbar. The Road from Agra to Secundra affords many fine Views. It is covered with Buildings & Ruins the Whole way. The Whole put one in mind of the Appian Way” (William Daniell’s Journal, 25 January 1789). Orphaned at an early age, William was adopted by his uncle. He was fifteen when he accompanied Thomas to India. As an assistant, he kept an extensive diary of these travels that reveals his own sketching approaches and his assistance in the finishing of his uncle's sketches and oil paintings. William’s journal reveals that for the tours they would only carry pencils, paper and a tinycamera obscura:a mirrored, cloth-shielded box used as an aid in drawing to trace the outline of a scene.

Back in London in 1794 the Daniells turned these sketches into finished watercolors and oil paintings which formed the basis of the celebrated prints we have included in the collection Thomas Daniell Indian Vistas (LINK TO COLLECTION PAGE). The Daniells used sepia and bluish grey inks for printing, and hand-stained the prints with other colours to duplicate the effect of the original watercolors.

The Daniells also employed the sketches of other touring painters of the time including Scottish artist, James Wales (1747–1795) who is known for his portraits of the family members of the Royal Maratha Empire in Western India, besides sketches of present-day World Heritage Sites, Ellora and Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra. These were all built to serve as monasteries and temples for Buddhists, Hindus and Jains, with each religion having several spaces. Wales came to India in 1791 and met with the Daniells in 1793, who encouraged him to continue his detailed drawings of Indian caves and temples. Many prints in our collection [link] on offer are from the sixth part of Oriental Scenery titled Hindoo Excavations in the Mountain of Ellora, near Aurungabad in Decan. This portfolio consists of twenty-four plates based on drawings by James Wales, primarily of the excavations at Ellora.

Thomas Daniell, The Upper Part of Kailasa
Hand-coloured aquatint
From "Oriental Scenery", June 1803
Saffronart Browse & Buy: Thomas Daniell Indian Vistas

My personal favorite in our collection [link] is Plate 16: The Upper Part of Kailasa. This depicts a bird’s eye view of the famous 8^th century megalith, Kailasanath Temple, one of the 34 monasteries and temples in Ellora designed to recall Mount Kailash, the home of Lord Shiva. Characteristic of Shiva temples, this complex has two structures – an image of the sacred bull Nandi in front of a central temple housing the physical representation of the deity called lingam. Daniell’s print captures the striking proportion, elaborate workmanship, architectural content and sculptural ornamentation of this remarkable paradigm of Indian rock-cut architecture.

The influx of artists visiting India at this time both aided the Daniells and served as competition for them. One notable competitor was William Hodges who published his Select Views of India (1785-88) before the Daniells. This gave Thomas Daniell the opportunity to ensure that his series of prints exceeded those of Hodges in terms of precision and content. Whilst Hodges’ Select Views was a commercial failure, Oriental Scenery reached a much wider audience and brought Thomas and William great success. The Daniells were prolific marketers of their work. The prints are known to have been sold in parts as group of plates. By doing so, the Daniells not only gave their customers the opportunity to pay for the prints over an extended period of time, but also ensured an on-going influx of funds for the expensive aquatinting process. The Daniells held numerous exhibitions of their oil paintings at the Royal Academy and British Institution in London in the early 1800s, which captured the attention and interest of the British public, and aided the sale of the prints that followed.