Ulwar, India - 1878

Oil painting of Alwar by Marianne North, dated November 1878.

Initially Marianne North (1830-1890) only painted botanical specimens and travelled around the world in search of interesting subject matter. She visited India in 1877-79 and completed over 200 paintings whilst there, painting landscape views as well. In her autobiography, 'Recollections of a happy life' of 1892, she wrote: "Major L...took me the next morning to see the old Palace and its lovely tank before breakfast. The buildings were of marble, with coloured lines and scrolls of mosaic work let into it. We went inside and saw the hall of audience...and on the marble paved terrace outside there was a plaster fountain furnished with a pink Cupid with green wings. Peacocks were the wild game of the country; I saw hundreds on every road, eating up all the newly sown corn, but they were never allowed to be touched. The holy tank was full of ducks, geese, and swans. The latter looked most dignified, sailing under the red sandstone arches. Above the beautiful tank with its marble pavilions rose rocky hills with forts, and domed buildings half hidden amongst the bushes and trees."

Source : British Library