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Lot Essay
"The guidebooks and other works which we had studied before leaving Europe made but little mention of this city, and we knew next to nothing of the marvels of wood-carving with which its streets are lined" (Artist statement, From the Black Sea Through Persia and India, New York, 1895, p. 329).
This present work was most likely painted on the spot during Edwin Lord Weeks’ first expedition to India in November 1882. Weeks also executed a number of studies of shop fronts in Bombay and Ahmedabad in the late 1880s, which he worked up as finished paintings in his Paris studio later.
The wooden domestic architecture of Ahmedabad made a deep impression on Weeks, who noted its main features as being "The deeply recessed lower story forming a veranda, and the wooden pillars with elaborately wrought consoles supporting the upper stories or balconies; the whole facade is often covered with a wealth of carving, painted with tints which are rather gaudy when new, but which are exquisitely beautiful when half effaced and weather-worn [...] The doors of these houses, although massive and heavy, both in appearance and actual weight, are often exceedingly interesting and of great artistic beauty" (Artist statement, Ibid., p.330).
The present work is a prime example of the scenes Weeks was attracted to record in situ. A brightly colored awning shields the shop keepers from the hot sun. The beautifully carved shop fronts are juxtaposed against the torn, makeshift awning, creating a fascinating, intimate and picturesque scene of everyday life in India.
The authenticity of this painting has previously been confirmed by Dr. Ellen K. Morris.
This present work was most likely painted on the spot during Edwin Lord Weeks’ first expedition to India in November 1882. Weeks also executed a number of studies of shop fronts in Bombay and Ahmedabad in the late 1880s, which he worked up as finished paintings in his Paris studio later.
The wooden domestic architecture of Ahmedabad made a deep impression on Weeks, who noted its main features as being "The deeply recessed lower story forming a veranda, and the wooden pillars with elaborately wrought consoles supporting the upper stories or balconies; the whole facade is often covered with a wealth of carving, painted with tints which are rather gaudy when new, but which are exquisitely beautiful when half effaced and weather-worn [...] The doors of these houses, although massive and heavy, both in appearance and actual weight, are often exceedingly interesting and of great artistic beauty" (Artist statement, Ibid., p.330).
The present work is a prime example of the scenes Weeks was attracted to record in situ. A brightly colored awning shields the shop keepers from the hot sun. The beautifully carved shop fronts are juxtaposed against the torn, makeshift awning, creating a fascinating, intimate and picturesque scene of everyday life in India.
The authenticity of this painting has previously been confirmed by Dr. Ellen K. Morris.