ATKINSON, James (attr.) (British, 1780-1852). A meeting of Rajahs in the Punjab hills.

ATKINSON, James (attr.) (British, 1780-1852)
A meeting of Rajahs in the Punjab hills
Oil on canvas
27 1/4" x 35 1/4" canvas, 34" x 42" framed

James Atkinson (1780-1852), English surgeon, Persian scholar, newspaper editor, and artist spent extensive amounts of time throughout India, first arriving there in 1802. Although Atkinson showed a talent for portraiture and languages as a child, he received his artistic and Persian language training in Backergunj near Dacca in present-day Bangladesh. In Backergunj, Atkinson, along with his close friend Sir Chalres D’Oyly, became a pupil of painter George Chinnery who inspired Atkinson’s love for painting Indian landscapes and village life. In 1812, Atkinson was stationed in Calcutta working at the Calcutta Mint where he served as Assistant to the Assay Master; the Assay Master was Horace Hayman Wilson, who published the first Sanskrit to English dictionary in 1819. From there, Atkinson was appointed Editor of Calcutta Gazette, later named Government Gazette, one of the earliest English language newspapers in India. 

In 1838, Atkinson was appointed Superintendent Surgeon of the Army of the Indus, Bengal Division, on an expedition to Afghanistan to address political turmoil in the region, making up what would be known as the First Anglo-Afghan War, lasting between 1838 and 1842. It was around this time that Atkinson produced this picture, first working it out through drawing and watercolor, and later in the present oil. In 1842, the artist published Sketches of Afghaunistan, providing views of the campaign in the Afghanistan and Punjab regions. While this image is not included in the publication, Atkinson had planned for a second volume which was never realized. While the worked up oils were lost in a shipwreck en route to England, the original sketches for the second volume were saved and are currently housed at the British Library. 

In the present painting, palm trees, dense forest, the blue sky nearing dusk, and a road leading to an edifice capping a pointed hill direct the viewer’s eye across the picture. Below, rajahs (Indian dignitaries or nobles during the British Raj) and their militiamen have established an encampment. Some of the men are on horse or on foot holding long spears and others have set up tents where they take rest and enjoy hookah. The flags and dress of the men below suggest they are part of the Sikh Khalsa Army; Punjab is the heart of the Sikh religion and cultural group, located in modern day Pakistan. Smoke rises above the tree line and the tops of an onion-domed building can be made out above the foliage at the center of the picture. The figural group in the background, rendered with simple strokes of paint, appear frenzied looking to the hills beyond. In the foreground, where one official confides with another with concern, we see that the others have not caught on yet to the impending force that approaches the camp. While the picture at first glance appears serene, Atkinson complicates this initial feeling with the troubling details in the lower half of the picture.