16
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Four drawings of an Indian chowkidar is a 16 by George Chinnery, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
These four quick sketches show a chowkidar, an Indian watchman who carried a sword and a round shield. George Chinnery made them between 1802 and 1825 while traveling in India. The guard’s gear sits beside him or rests on the ground, giving us a tight study of posture and weight. Look up the technique Chinnery used—cross-hatching—to see how simple lines can build up tone.
The four drawings depict an Indian chowkidar, or guard, holding a sword and a circular shield, placed either on his back or beside him on the hillside. They are part of a volume containing 406 drawings created by George Chinnery in Macau, Guangzhou, and Bengal. The drawings were bequeathed in 1928 by James Orange as part of an album of 93 works by Chinnery.
Read the full account in the museum source.
George Chinnery (Chinese: 錢納利; 5 January 1774 – 30 May 1852) was an English painter who spent most of his life in Asia, especially India and southern China.
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