Banyan Tree in the Botanical Garden, Calcutta

1830

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Dominant colour

Banyan Tree in the Botanical Garden, Calcutta is a 1830 by Robert Captain Smith, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Robert Captain Smith
When & what style?: 1830 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This sketch shows a single massive tree with sprawling roots and branches, filling most of the frame. Underneath, a few small figures stand near a fence or wall, dwarfed by the tree’s size. The lines are loose and quick, focusing on the tree’s wild shape over fine details. The title at the bottom calls it a *Banyan Tree* in Calcutta’s botanical garden, a place where exotic plants were studied. The artist used simple shading to suggest light and shadow, keeping it light and sketchy. Want to see more? Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum for this drawing.

The story of this work

Overview

A pencil drawing by Captain Robert Smith depicts a banyan tree in the Botanical Garden in Calcutta, part of a series of 65 detached and mounted illustrations from his travel journal spanning 1828 to 1833. The work includes sketches from voyages along the Ganges and visits to cities such as Cawnpore, Delhi, Agra, and Lucknow. Smith, a former officer of the 44th Regiment, completed the unpublished manuscript in Ireland after retiring in 1833, finishing it in 1845. The drawing was later acquired by the museum in 1915 from W. M. Biden of Hampton-on-Thames.

Read the full account in the museum source.