Posted on: 8 July 2012

The Flemish artist François Balthazar Solvyns (1760-1824), who lived in Calcutta from 1791 to 1803, is little known, but his collection of etchings of the Hindus provide a rich and compelling portrait of India two hundred years ago. These prints, depicting the people of Bengal in their occupations, festivals, and daily life, and the accompanying descriptive text, have rarely been referred to by historians of India. Indeed, for most historians, Solvyns was apparently unknown--or at least "unseen"--and no systematic use of his work had been made until, in the late 1980s, I initiated the current project with a long article, co-authored with Stephen A. Slawek, a colleague in ethnomusicology, on Solvyns's portrayal of musical instruments. Solvyns was born in Antwerp in 1760, of a prominent merchant family, and had pursued a career as a marine painter until political unrest in Europe and his own insecure position led him to seek his fortune in India. Following his arrival in Calcutta in 1791, Solvyns worked as something of a journeyman artist, but in 1794, he announced his plan for A Collection of Two Hundred and Fifty Coloured Etchings: Descriptive of the Manners, Customs and Dresses of the Hindoos. The collection was published in Calcutta in a few copies in 1796, and then in greater numbers in 1799. Divided into twelve parts, the first section, with 66 prints, depicts "the Hindoo Casts, with their professions." Following sections portray servants, costumes, means of transportation (carts, palanquins, and boats), modes of smoking, fakirs, musical instruments, and festivals. The project proved a financial failure. The etchings, by contemporary European standards, were rather crudely done, and they did not appeal to the vogue of the picturesque. In 1803, Solvyns left India for France and soon redid the etchings for a folio edition of 288 plates, Les Hindoûs, published in Paris between 1808 and 1812 in four volumes. Even these sumptuous volumes failed commercially, victim to the unrest of the Napoleonic wars and to the sheer cost of the publication. When the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1814, Solvyns returned to his native Antwerp, where William I appointed him Captain of the Port in recognition of his accomplishments as an artist. Solvyns died in 1824.

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Splendid ... Solvyns is a much neglected artist. For historians, his detailed illustrations of daily life in the Calcutta of two-hundred years ago, are invaluable.

http://laits.utexas.edu/solvyns-project/

There is an oil painting by Solvyns in the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta.

I particularly like Solvyns pictures of ships and boats. http://www.artclon.com/OtherFile/Franz-Balthazar-Solvyns-xx-The-Charlotte-of-Chittagong-and-other-vessels-at-anchor-in-the-River-Hoogli.jpg This particular vessel is my favourite. I think it was the vessel referred to here by my 5 x great uncle Edward Baber, who borrowed it from Warren Hastings to go down river to the ship it was going home to England on My Dear Sir, As you were so kind to say to me in Calcutta, that I might return when I pleased, I conclude it is unnecessary to trouble you with a formal application – I therefore beg leave to inform you that it is my intention to leave this place the 30th of this month – and if you have any commands to honour me with, you know, my dear sir, they will be executed with pleasure by me – as Mr Ross informed me that the packet will be on Board the 10th of January – We must leave Calcutta by the 8th – and I should esteem myself highly obliged to you for the use of the yacht to carry us to the ship. I have the honour to be with the Sincerest Esteem & Respect, Moidapore My dear Sir 21st Decem’r 1779 Your Faithfull & affectionate Edw~d Baber

Yes, and there's an American book about them.

... ' The Charlotte ' was certainly an elegant looking yacht, Nick - lovely lines and I'm sure she would have been very swift with the wind behind her... your ancestor would surely have been transported down the Hooghly to the coast in next to no time !...

Jo, The American book you refer to is probably Boats of Bengal by Robert L Hardgrave. Hardgrave seems to be the premier authority on Solvyns. I was able to get my copy from an Indian publishing house called Manohar published in 2001. Hardgrave gives a really interesting commentary on all of the different types of boat. It is interesting to see that the modern hobby sailing boat in the US and UK most probably got its name from the Dingi which was apparently a common term in Bengali meaning small boat. Can any Bengali reading this confirm this to be the case?

The Charlotte was still sailing long after Solvyns painter her...on the Andaman run...see the first pictures of the aborigines. Happy to own a copy of the book. See the picture of the "Suttee"...

@Ncik: Most English words are borrowings...

Yes...Robert Hardgrave's book is indeed the definitive one on Solvyns. I too have a copy in my possession and more importantly... also 45 of the original Solvyn's 1799 Calcutta prints too! That was a great acquisition.

I was living in Lake Gardens in Calcutta in 1996 and the only other 'European' living there was Professor Hardgrave's daughter. I was getting interested in Solvyns and she told me about her father. I mention Solvyns very briefly in my book 'Abdul's Taxi to Kalighat'. European artists in India really interest me. Some ended rather tragically, like John Alefounder, mentioned by William Hickey.

Joe, I haven;t come across John Alefounder. Can you point me towards any examples of his work on the web. Nick Balmer

Here's a link to an interesting webpage on Alefounder. reepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~alefounder/JA1757note.html