Tilly Kettle, 1735–1786, British, active in India (1769–76)
Title:
Shuja-ud-Daula, Nawab of Oudh
Date:
1772
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
50 × 40 inches (127 × 101.6 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1976.7.48
Gallery Label:
Tilly Kettle established himself in London as a portrait painter in the 1760s. Discouraged by the fierce competition, he sailed to India in 1768, the first professional British artist to make a career there. On arrival in Madras, in southern India, Kettle built a client base of East India Company officials, military officers, and local Indian rulers. In 1771 he moved to Faizabad, where he painted an impressive series of portraits of the powerful Nawab (ruler) Shuja-ud-Daula and his family. Shuja was hostile to British incursions in India but fascinated by the potential of western portraiture to project his own authority. Copied by Indian court artists and used as diplomatic gifts, these portraits played an important role in constructing Shuja’s image during his complex negotiations with the British. Grasping a bow in his right hand, and wearing fur and rich Mughal textiles, the Nawab confronts the viewer with an uncompromising gaze. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
