What fort is it with its truly massive gate and what are the hills in the runn of Kutch? And the river?

I presume it is artistic licence at its best. : )

The title is very specific. So much artistic license? May be the Rajah of Kutch was visiting some place. This casts a doubt on historic value of paintings mad by Grindlays, however beautiful the paintings may look for the exquisite style, detail and color.

We have to understand that the 'concept of picturesque' took precedence over accuracy and realism during this period of British India paintings.

I understand. Nevertheless, however picturesque, delectable and possessible, not of historic value. Sadly, this may cast doubt on what he has said or painted elsewhere.

Aah, but this was the Age of Romanticism. It was happening all over Europe, too. When you think of it, no art is truly 100% historically accurate. I have killed off quite a few annoying trees which were getting in the way of a sublime landscape, with a single brushstroke, in my former life as an artist. :)) Indeed, if you had used one of my landscapes as a map, you would have become hopelessly lost within minutes of setting out....artistic licence. When we paint, we want you to see the things about the landscape and people around us which delighted us in the first place...hence the placement of people (seemingly) totally out of context with reality, at times. You aren't just viewing the world through the artist's eyes, but through their soul. :))

It may not all be "a work of imagination running riot"----the Rann of Cutch is approx 18,000 sq miles----the west is all salt pans along the coast--but the east has a series-which is generally dark brown ---of low @medium(ht) rises---capped by Deccan basalt flows---a fort can be easily built there.Geographically the Rann and Sindh (Pakistan") are contiguous ---and since the Arabs arrived in India via Sindh---fortifications must have evolved as a security measure against such expeditions As for historical value---it matters little---what is more important is its value as a piece of ART---IF I had it --I wudnt care if it was depicted in a bengali village or a Tamilian hut?/

RBS Do you find yourself 'apologizing 'a good deal for Raj era stuff and its inaccurate depictions?! :) I have the same problem as Shekhar Sathe although in a different context. How much do we go on 'understanding' and for how long?

Again, to labor a point, one is not questioning the artistic value of the piece, and one is free to hang it where ever one likes. The painter claims it to depict The rajah of Kutch and his Vassals. The hills in the background are immense. We also have a lovely river flowing through Kutch. The 17 year-old was surely taking liberties artists of that era seldom took. Lynn, you took liberty when you painted trees, this gentleman is painting historical characters which calls for a greater degree of realism.

Ah... Sumedha. The more we learn...the more we learn to understand and it never ends.... The funny thing is that we sometimes learn that we never understood in the first place. : )

I just LOVE Subbiah Yadalam ...the diplomat !

Did the Rajah of Kutch and his Vassals ever vacation in the Himalayas . I have NO idea where Kutch is located . Tongue in cheek, Oprah just announced to an audience of 300fans , present at the launch of her last season for her show yesterday , that they are ALL going for eight days to Australia in December . The painting has a title but does not specify that ye Rajah and his slaves were in home terrain .Could he have afforded, like our N American diva, to travel with his whole entourage way back then? :o))

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kutch Whatever did we do before Wikipedia ? Must have been a long trip ...were there any hills closer to Gujarat ?

Boomin' marvellous painting !

I meant blooming!

Blooming marvelous fraud!

:o)) <3

@Yvonne Hussein Le Fort @RBSI: After some research, I have discovered that the landscape in this painting is not only possible, in reality it is most probably actual (with a little artistic freedom). The landscape in Kutch is not only varied, it is rugged and dotted by a few forts of the kind seen in the painting. I have some photographs collected from the net which I am mailing separately. So it is indeed a blooming marvelous painting. My apologies to you both and above all, to the painter.