A PORTRAIT OF THE HINDUS: BALTHAZAR SOLVYNS & THE EUROPEAN IMAGE OF INDIA 1760-1824. by Hardgrave, Robert L., Jr - 2004

New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 568 pp, 12 1/8" H. 79 colour and 285 b&w illustrations. "The Flemish artist Francois Balthazar Solvyns (1760-1824) is little known, but his series of etchings of the Hindus provides a rich and compelling portrait of India two hundred years ago. With commitment to faithful representation and with the sensi-bilities of an astutely observant artist, Solvyns portrays the people of India in their occupations, festi-vals and cultural life with immediacy and sympathy. Solvyns' life is itself fascinating, and his portrayal of India constitutes an unrivalled visual account of the people of Bengal in the late eighteenth century." Contents: Francois Balthazar Solvyns Life and Work: Acknowledgements; Introduction; From Antewerp to Calcutta: A Flemish Artist in India; Return to Europe: Les Hindous; Balthazar Solvyns, Artist and Orientalist; Les Hindous: Preliminary Discourse. A Portrait of the Hindus: Solvyn's Calcutta; Castes and Occupations; Dresses of Hindu Men and Hindu Women; Servants of the European Household in Calcutta; Fakirs and Religious Mendicants; Musical Instruments; Festivals and Ceremonies; Sati; Modes of Smoking, &c.; Modes of Conveyance; Boats of Bengal; Natural History: Plants and Animals; Indian Heads; Appendix I. Solvyns in Libraries; Bibliography; Index & Glossary. Minor 2" wrinkle in cloth on front board, wrinkle in front pastedown. Dust jackat has minor wrinkling at top/bottom of spine and flap-folds, some light color offset fron boards on inside surface.. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Very Good+. Illus. by Francois Balthazar Solvyns..