The Hoosseinabad Imambara, Lucknow

1866

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century Pavilion

Dominant colour

The Hoosseinabad Imambara, Lucknow is a 1866 by Louis-Théophile Marie Rousselet, a Impressionism work, depicting Pavilion, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Louis-Théophile Marie Rousselet
When & what style?: 1866 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a tall, white building with arches and domes, glowing in golden light. People in loose robes walk in the courtyard below. Rousselet drew this while traveling in India, but he worried his sketches didn’t show the real beauty. So he learned photography there—something rare for a European at the time. His photos later helped shape how the West saw Indian architecture. If you like this mix of drawing and early photography, look up the technique called sfumato.

The story of this work

Overview

Concerned that his drawings did not do justice to the splendor of India’s monuments, Rousselet learned photography in India that year, a remarkable accomplishment. He proved to be a talented photographer with a sophisticated sense of composition. The scenes in this volume sweep across sites of Sultanate, Rajput, and Mughal power in northern India, from the sacred Hindu city of Varanasi on the Ganges River to Alwar in Rajasthan. Also included are several scenes of industry and portraits of Indian rulers.