1769 -1837, Along with his uncle Thomas Daniell, at the age of 15, William sailed by the 'Atlas' Indiaman from England in April 1785 and reached Calcutta via China in 1786. As a professional artist, he visited and worked in India with his uncle between 1786 and 1793.
William was young and quite inexperienced and it was not until after their return from India that his full powers were to be revealed and he was to prove a master of aquatinting and a highly skilled painter in oils.
Origin Place
Born in London
Period / Year of Work
1829 AD
Historical Note
The magnificent views of Indian landscapes and antiquities in both oil and aquatint, painted by Thomas Daniell and his nephew William, made an immediate impact on the British elite. Stylistically correct and conventional as they were, their magnitude and novelty charmed the romantically inclined for whom the Graeco-Roman culture was effete. Motifs were freely borrowed from Oriental Scenery to decorate wallpapers and ceramics, while the flamboyant domes and minarets of the Royal Pavilion extravaganza at Brighton were directly inspired by the Daniells' accurate depiction of Indian architecture. On the whole, their Oriental Scenery largely contributed to the British image of India as a land of romance and glory. Indeed, the Daniells have continued to feed the Raj nostalgia to this day.
Brief Description
Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1829.
Both Thomas & William Daniell painted the Taj Mahal visited by
them in January 1789, almost from the same spot, though the
compositions are different.
Detailed Description
In the Victoria Memorial oil the Taj is reflected in the
water. The foreground is made lively by a procession consisting
of elephants, cavalrymen and foot-soldiers and other persons
coming up the bank of the river. People are seen paying
obeisance to the dignitary on the howdah. Two palm trees are
visible on the right foreground.
