Indian Company School The Great Gate (Darwaza-i rauza) of Taj Mahal, Agra

An original 19th-century watercolour painting, Indian Company School, The Great Gate (Darwaza-i rauza) of Taj Mahal, Agra.

An exquisite Indian Company painting showing the Great Gate (Darwaza-i rauza) of Taj Mahal, Agra. Its distinctive two-tone facade, in red sandstone with white marble inlays, is rendered in miniature with remarkable precision.

The Great Gate is the gateway to the gardens which, symbolically, represent Paradise. The Great Gate was therefore a passage between the terrestrial life, illustrated by the inner courtyard, and the spiritual life, represented by the gardens. The Taj Mahal can be seen in the distance beyond.

This painting is a fine example of an Indian Company painting, produced for Western (especially British) patrons in India in the 19th century, many of whom were working for the East India Company. It displays the striking hybrid techniques which led to the categorisation of the ‘Company’ style as a School. While incorporating traditional elements from Rajput and Mughal painting, they were given a more 'western' appearance through their use of perspective and rounded modelling, as opposed to the more decorative, 'flatter' styles that had gone before.

On light-weight cream wove paper with partial watermark [?]organ [?]don'.