1852
oil
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Copy of painting inside the caves of Ajanta (Cave 1) is a 1852 oil by Robert Gill, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This oil painting copies ancient murals inside India’s Ajanta caves. It shows scenes from Buddhist stories called jatakas. Robert Gill made it between 1850 and 1854. Ajanta’s caves hold the oldest surviving Indian paintings. Most of Gill’s copies were lost in a fire in 1866. Later teams redocumented the caves to save what was left. Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting, located in Cave 1 at Ajanta, depicts scenes from the Mahosadha and Sumagadha jatakas. In the top right, a raja sits on an ornate throne while attendants pour water from lotas; to the left, a man carries a lota, another leans on a stick, and a woman holds a tray, while a boy climbs steps to hand a plate to a young woman. Outside, four men stretch out their hands for alms. In the bottom right, a royal figure receives a salver with four heads, observed by three others, while a palace interior and trees appear nearby. A doorway to a monk’s cell is outlined in the left corner, and…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Major Robert Gill (1804–1879) was an army officer, antiquarian, painter and photographer in British India.
See the richer artist page
