'[title not known]', British (?) School

Artwork details

Artist

British (?) School (dates not known)

Title

[title not known]

From Madeira and India Sketchbook

Date 1833

MediumGraphite and ink on paper

Dimensionssupport: 138 x 237 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Purchased as part of the Oppé Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996

Reference

T10773

View this artwork by appointment, at Tate Britain's Prints and Drawings Rooms

Display caption

These two sheets from a sketchbook provide a panoramic view of an Indian landscape. Although we do not know who made these drawings, the sketchbook contains evidence that it was created by someone who travelled to India by sea in 1833. Such a voyage would take around six months.

Sketching allowed travellers to often document, and begin to comprehend, the new landscapes and environments they encountered. The panoramic format was frequently used, as it effectively conveyed a sense of the sublime, even overwhelming, extent and impact of these alien landscapes.

September 2004