World Press Photo: Next #04
Peter Lindbergh. On Fashion Photography. 40th Ed.
Under Indian Skies: 19th-Century Photographs from a Private Collection
John Falconer
A fantastic insight into Colonial India through vintage photography
At the beginning of the 1850s, photography had gained acceptance in Colonial India. With its magnificent architecture, exotic landscapes and many different cultures, India could offer fantastic photographic scenes. In this splendid photobook, which is also the catalogue for an exhibition at The David Collection in Copenhagen, the author has collected photos by English and some Indian photographers. Their images represent India’s architecture in all its glory – outstanding palaces and monuments, including Taj Mahal – as well as portraits of princes, maharajas, ministers and warriors in all their splendour.
There are also photos of the typical Indian craftsmen – stone- and woodcarvers, carpenters and colourists – as well as photos of elephants, people bathing in the Ganges river, people harvesting hay and working in gardens, acrobats, snake charmers, dancers, musicians and religious processions. All photos are accompanied by descriptive captions while a map of India creates overview of which locations the photos were taken.
John Falconer is former Lead Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs in the British Library. His main specialism is 19th-century photography in Asia, on which he has published extensively. He has also curated exhibitions of Asian photography both in the UK and internationally. He is currently a Museum Guest Scholar at the Getty Research Institute.
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