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Lot Essay
The Victorian age produced perhaps many remarkable artist-travelers, but William Simpson "was one of the best of them - truthful, intrepid, and very talented. He took nothing for granted" (M. Archer and P. Theroux, Visions of India: the sketchbooks of William Simpson 1859-62, London, 1986, p. 1).
Simpson was first sent to India in 1859 by the publisher William Day to produce a large-scale illustrated work showing the country in the wake of Mutiny. The project was eventually wrecked by Day's bankruptcy in 1866, causing Simpson to describe it as "the biggest disaster of my life." The original intention of describing the various aspects of the Mutiny took a back seat to unprecedented subjects for the artist's brush - dust storms in Rajasthan, crocodiles, and vultures on the Ganges, bustling street life in Bombay, and puja ceremonies in the Himalayas. Simpson's sketches of India served as the raw material for his 250 finished watercolors, the majority of which were completed in England some three or four years after his return, and many of which were published in Visions of India: the sketchbooks of William Simpson 1859-62, by Mildred Archer. The full set of 250 watercolors was shown in London in the German Gallery in 1866 to unequivocal praise and enthusiasm.
On his first trip to India, Simpson visited Delhi twice, once between 29 November 1859 and 14 January 1860, and again between 9 October to the beginning of November 1860. The sketch for this finished watercolor may date from either of these periods. Simpson, who had a keen and acute eye for Mughal architecture, and in fact published several works on diverse types of architecture, was scathing of British "Taj-Worship" and disregard for what he felt to be superior examples of Mughal architecture. He noted, "Very few people pay any real attention to the details of architecture" (The Autobiography of William Simpson, R.I., London, 1903, p.126). The Jama Masjid in Delhi, built between 1644-58 by 5,000 workmen, is one of the largest mosques in India and the last great architectural work of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Simpson was first sent to India in 1859 by the publisher William Day to produce a large-scale illustrated work showing the country in the wake of Mutiny. The project was eventually wrecked by Day's bankruptcy in 1866, causing Simpson to describe it as "the biggest disaster of my life." The original intention of describing the various aspects of the Mutiny took a back seat to unprecedented subjects for the artist's brush - dust storms in Rajasthan, crocodiles, and vultures on the Ganges, bustling street life in Bombay, and puja ceremonies in the Himalayas. Simpson's sketches of India served as the raw material for his 250 finished watercolors, the majority of which were completed in England some three or four years after his return, and many of which were published in Visions of India: the sketchbooks of William Simpson 1859-62, by Mildred Archer. The full set of 250 watercolors was shown in London in the German Gallery in 1866 to unequivocal praise and enthusiasm.
On his first trip to India, Simpson visited Delhi twice, once between 29 November 1859 and 14 January 1860, and again between 9 October to the beginning of November 1860. The sketch for this finished watercolor may date from either of these periods. Simpson, who had a keen and acute eye for Mughal architecture, and in fact published several works on diverse types of architecture, was scathing of British "Taj-Worship" and disregard for what he felt to be superior examples of Mughal architecture. He noted, "Very few people pay any real attention to the details of architecture" (The Autobiography of William Simpson, R.I., London, 1903, p.126). The Jama Masjid in Delhi, built between 1644-58 by 5,000 workmen, is one of the largest mosques in India and the last great architectural work of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.