Unveiling India

Photography arrived in India as early as 1840, followed by the establishment of photographic societies in Calcutta (Kolkata), Bombay (Mumbai) and Madras (Chennai) by the mid-1850s. Drawn from the Alkazi Collection of Photography, this volume explores the work of two armymen in the service of the English East India Company: Alexander Greenlaw (1818-1870) in south India, and John Murray (1809-1898), a Scottish-born doctor, stationed near Agra in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. They both took some of the earliest landscape photographs, at times establishing a visual lineage with the picturesque tradition- topographic imagery suffused with ruins-derivative of English painting.


Gradually, India witnessed the rise of sophisticated photo-studios in some of the leading metropolitan centres, pandering to the shifting tastes of the public, and a professional class of photographers emerged, such as Samuel Bourne (1843-1912) of England, and Raja Deen Dayal (1844-1905), India's renowned court photographer. They continued and refined the tradition of 'survey' photography, expanding their oeuvre with princely patrons as well as the emerging professional classes. The lead essays provide various perspectives on the pictorial traditions and the documentation process of the landscape and the cities of India. Produced in conjunction with an exhibition of same name held at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Belgium, this volume presents an array of early vintage works that underscore distinct aspects of architecture, landscape, and people photography. Published in association with the Alkazi Collection of Photography and Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Belgium.