Lot Essay
Though born in Boston, Edwin Lord Weeks moved to Paris in 1870 to study at the École des Beaux-Arts. After his studies he returned to America only to depart two years later for Morocco, where he remained for a number of years. Eventually Weeks’s Salon entries caught the eye of the Parisian dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, and he began representing the artist in 1882, the same year Weeks made his first voyage to India. India held a tremendous fascination for Weeks, and he would make three visits to the subcontinent during his life: in 1882, 1886 and 1892. Weeks travelled extensively throughout India on these visits, sketching and taking photographs that he would use for reference once he had returned to Paris, so that he could continue to paint his popular Indian pictures from the studio. In his work Weeks shows his remarkable talent for documenting the factual reality of his exotic surroundings. His architectural depictions are true to form and his ability to render texture - be it in textile, metal or stone - is so lifelike that it captures the very essence of his subject in a few self-assured brushstrokes.
The present painting depicts a street in Ahmedabad. In 1864 a railway link was made between Ahmedabad and Bombay, thus making Ahmedabad an important junction in the traffic and trade between northern and southern India. Weeks visited Ahmedabad during his first visit in 1882 and created a number of works in and around the city. Dr. Ellen Morris believes that this painting was undertaken by the artist in two stages. First, Weeks painted the ornate architecture of the street in situ, capturing the intricate detail of the wooden balconies common in Ahmedabad with characteristic precision. Then, after his return to Paris, the elephant, mahout, two retainers walking in front of the elephant in white, and the beautifully dressed young woman at the right edge of the canvas were all added to further fill out the painting. These figures would have been studied from life during Weeks’s visit, and then added to complete the painting circa 1885.
When Weeks died in November 1903 a Bostonian reporter wrote: ‘Particularly luminous and spectacular are some of his pictures of the cities of India, with their wonderful architecture, so well drawn, their swarming life, and their barbaric effects of crude color. Without being theatrical, these scenes are finely dramatic, and they are among the best illustrations of Oriental life that we have in color. The pageantry of Indian life appealed powerfully to the artist, and he rendered it with all his inherent splendor and gorgeousness.' (quoted in U.W. Hiesinger, 'Edwin Lord Weeks, painter and explorer', The Magazine Antiques, November 2002.)
A Letter of Authentication from Dr. Ellen K. Morris accompanies this painting, and the work will be included in her Edwin Lord Weeks catalogue raisonné, currently under preparation.
The present painting depicts a street in Ahmedabad. In 1864 a railway link was made between Ahmedabad and Bombay, thus making Ahmedabad an important junction in the traffic and trade between northern and southern India. Weeks visited Ahmedabad during his first visit in 1882 and created a number of works in and around the city. Dr. Ellen Morris believes that this painting was undertaken by the artist in two stages. First, Weeks painted the ornate architecture of the street in situ, capturing the intricate detail of the wooden balconies common in Ahmedabad with characteristic precision. Then, after his return to Paris, the elephant, mahout, two retainers walking in front of the elephant in white, and the beautifully dressed young woman at the right edge of the canvas were all added to further fill out the painting. These figures would have been studied from life during Weeks’s visit, and then added to complete the painting circa 1885.
When Weeks died in November 1903 a Bostonian reporter wrote: ‘Particularly luminous and spectacular are some of his pictures of the cities of India, with their wonderful architecture, so well drawn, their swarming life, and their barbaric effects of crude color. Without being theatrical, these scenes are finely dramatic, and they are among the best illustrations of Oriental life that we have in color. The pageantry of Indian life appealed powerfully to the artist, and he rendered it with all his inherent splendor and gorgeousness.' (quoted in U.W. Hiesinger, 'Edwin Lord Weeks, painter and explorer', The Magazine Antiques, November 2002.)
A Letter of Authentication from Dr. Ellen K. Morris accompanies this painting, and the work will be included in her Edwin Lord Weeks catalogue raisonné, currently under preparation.