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A group of dancing-girls and musicians

Faiz Ali Khan

1815

paint

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Patna School of Painting Romanticism Early 19th Century

Dominant colour

A group of dancing-girls and musicians is a 1815 paint by Faiz Ali Khan, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Faiz Ali Khan
When & what style?: 1815 · Patna School of Painting
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

You see a group of dancing-girls and musicians performing in front of a crowd. This painting is interesting because it shows a mix of Indian and European styles. It was made for Europeans living in India, which is why it looks a bit different from other Indian art. Check out the technique of sfumato to learn more about how artists create soft, hazy effects like this.

The story of this work

Overview

This Company painting from around 1815 depicts a troupe of three dancing girls and four musicians performing before a male official and a group of women, some of whom are smoking huqqas. The scene includes a hilly landscape and river in the background, framed by additional figures in the immediate foreground. Produced by an Indian artist likely named Faiz Ali Khan, the work blends traditional Indian styles with Western artistic conventions. It belongs to a set of four images illustrating inhabitants of Delhi and reflects the fusion of local and European artistic practices in works…

Read the full account in the museum source.