The Body of the Maharani: Portraiture, Gender and Empire at the Royal Academy 1791–1865

Excellent online lecture from the Paul Mellon Centre discussing a portrait of the Maharani Jind Kaur which was shown at the Royal Academy annual show in 1865.

Adam Eker, from the Metropolitan Museum, which has recent acquired this work by George Richmond, took us though how the picture was commissioned by the sitter’s son, Duleep Singh, possibly to mark the return of her jewelry from the British government.

He put the work in the context of other work representing the Indian subcontinent in Royal Academy shows and in particular works which engaged with the idea of women in purdah. He talked about how the women were often exoticized.

He then talked about how it was shown at the Royal Academy show. The Maharani was a well-known, although controversial, figure in London so the work drew the critics and Eker outlined some of the press reporting of the work.

This was a clearly explained overview of ongoing research to inform an exhibition at the Met in collaboration with Tate Britain in 2029 on the art of colonial India and I look forward to that.

 

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