{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O168749"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O168749/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2008BU9120/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2008BU9120/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2008BU9120","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BT0355","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O168749/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O168749","accessionNumber":"1167-1869","objectType":"Painting","titles":[{"title":"Kailasanatha temple, Ellora","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"William Simpson (1823 - 1899) was commissioned to go to India by his employers, Day and Sons, the London lithography firm. Having established his reputation by documenting the Crimean war in 1854, he was instructed to sketch well-known sites in and around Delhi associated with the heavy fighting of 1857.\r\n\r\nSimpson arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1859 and travelled widely. His rapid pencil drawings formed the preparatory studies for his finished watercolours which were done after his return to London in 1862. His fond memories of India, as noted in his journal, resulted in these highly coloured, evocative and romantic interpretations of the Indian landscape.\r\n\r\nThe Kailasanatha temple was breathtaking to all who saw it. The immense scale of the architecture, and the skill required to carve it out of the rocky mountainside, was almost incomprehensible, and the angle from which Simpson has drawn this view highlights this fact. The European couple give a sense of scale to the temple.","physicalDescription":"Overview of the great rock-cut Kailasanatha temple at Ellora. Taken from the top of the temple, this image gives a sense of the immense scale of the architecture. There is a European couple on the right hand side looking across at the temple.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Simpson, William","id":"A10511"},"association":{"text":"artist","id":"AAT25103"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"watercolour (paint)","id":"AAT15045"},{"text":"paper (fiber product)","id":"AAT14109"}],"techniques":[{"text":"watercolour painting (technique)","id":"THES250889"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"watercolour on paper","categories":[{"text":"Paintings","id":"THES48917"},{"text":"Architecture","id":"THES48993"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SSEA","id":"THES48598"},"images":["2008BU9120","2008BT0355"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"006","id":"THES403497"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Painting","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"India","id":"x29790"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1862","earliest":"1862-01-01","latest":"1862-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Purchased from Messrs Day and Son Ltd (London) in 1869","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"36.1","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"515","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Historical significance: William Simpson (1823 - 1899)\r\n\r\nWilliam Simpson was commissioned to go to India by his employers, Day and Sons, the London lithography firm. Having established his reputation by documenting the Crimean war in 1854, he was instructed to sketch well-known sites in and around Delhi associated with the heavy fighting of 1857.\r\n\r\nSimpson arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1859 and travelled widely. His rapid pencil drawings formed the preparatory studies for his finished watercolours which were done after his return to London in 1862. His fond memories of India, as noted in his journal, resulted in these highly coloured, evocative and romantic interpretations of the Indian landscape.\r\n\r\nSimpson, a largely self-taught artist from a poor family in Scotland, had hoped to achieve fame on the publication of his paintings in a lavishly illustrated volume. Unfortunately, financial problems led to the poorly printed India Ancient and Modern containing only fifty images. Simpson called it the ‘big disaster’ of his life. \r\n\r\nThe V&A has the single most important collection of watercolours made during Simpson's first expedition to India.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Painting of the Kailasanatha temple, Ellora By William Simpson, watercolour on paper, India, 1862","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"Rohatgi P. and Parlett G., assisted by Imray S. and Godrej P. <u>Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists: Paintings and Drawings from the Victoria and Albert Museum, 17th to the early 20th century</u>. Published by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, in association with V&A, London, 2008. ISBN 81-901020-9-5.","id":"AUTH329675"},"details":"p. 310, pl. 28 and detail","free":"Registered File number RF/1869/6716"},{"reference":{"text":"Patel, Divia; Rohatgi, Pauline and Godrej, Pheroza, \"Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists: an exhibition of paintings and drawings from the 17th to the early 20th century organised by the V&A and CSMVS\". Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai and Victoria and Albert Museum, 2008, ISBN:81-901020-8-7","id":"AUTH330101"},"details":"p. 70","free":""}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[{"text":"Ellora","id":"x38726"}],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[{"text":"Hinduism","id":"AAT73727"}],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Between the 17th and 19th centuries, British artists often travelled to India to establish or further their careers. William Simpson was fascinated by Indian architecture and local life. In this dramatic bird’s eye view, he captures the immense scale and breath-taking craftsmanship of the Kailasanatha Temple. The European tourists in the foreground emphasise the monument’s enormous proportions, skilfully hewn from the rocky mountainside.","date":{"text":"23/03/2022","earliest":"2022-03-23","latest":"2022-03-23"}},{"text":"The Kailasanatha temple was breathtaking to all who saw it. The immense scale of the architecture, and the skill required to carve it out of the rocky mountainside, was almost incomprehensible, and the angle from which Simpson has drawn this view highlights this fact. The European couple give a sense of scale to the temple.","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}}],"partNumbers":["1167-1869"],"accessionNumberNum":"1167","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":1869,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-09-21","recordCreationDate":"2008-10-06","availableToBook":false}}