Officers of Elephant Battery, Jhansi (recto)
1884
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1884
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a group of Indian soldiers in crisp uniforms, posed stiffly in front of a cannon. Their faces are serious, hands resting on swords or rifles. This isn’t a painting—it’s an early photograph. Raja Deen Dayal was one of the first Indian photographers to document British colonial life, blending art with record-keeping. The men here served in Jhansi, a city tied to rebellion and resistance just decades earlier. If you want to see more of India through his lens, look up Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905).
