2 weeks Ago By Prachi Satrawal
Without photography, how would history have been ‘created’?” begins Sudeshna Guha, the curator of ‘Histories in the Making: Photographing Indian Monuments, 1855–1920’, an exhibition that explores the role of photography in documenting India’s architectural and cultural history. Hosted at DAG in New Delhi, the exhibition draws from the gallery’s vast archives of early photographs to “showcase a time when photography was still in its infancy, and yet, British India emerged as the first country outside Europe to establish professional photographic studios,” states Ashish Anand, CEO of DAG. The images on display highlight “the travails of photography and also the science of photography” while interrogating its role in shaping the historical narrative of India in the colonial era.
The mid-1800s marked the beginning of systematic efforts to capture India’s architectural heritage through photography. British colonial officials, including Thomas Biggs, William Johnson, and William Henderson, used this new medium for documentation. The Bombay Presidency commissioned Biggs in 1854 to photograph the caves and temples of Western India.
As Guha points out, “With photography, classification also happened,” with early photographers creating visual taxonomies of India’s cultural heritage. And it had a practical purpose: there was vandalism of antiquities that had to be controlled through extensive documentation and fieldwork. However, it was not a simple act of recording.
Guha urges viewers to look beyond the surface of these images and seek the layered narratives they contain. “The very fact you want a clear view of the site in photographs of architecture and monuments means you are clearing the site,” says Guha. The exhibition also examines the role of photography in shaping social and political conditions.
“These initial photographs created social conditions of seeing; even today we are implicated by their vocabulary in our ways of seeing,” emphasises Guha. However, she reminds us, “Photography, the science and art of it, has nevertheless also been a level up, so I would urge you not to limit your act of looking at them to just that of a colonial gaze.” She adds, “In the view of India, native photographers were always implicated,” Indian photographic societies offered a platform for local photographers to exhibit their work alongside British photographers, even though colonialist views persisted.
Notable Indian figures, like Narayan Daji’s work was praised for its technique, demonstrated the growing involvement of local talent and Initiatives like The Indian Amateur’s Photographic Album by Messrs Merwanjee Bomonjee & Co. reflect the often overlooked photographic archives of the amateur Indian photographers. The physical and technical challenges of 19th-century photography were many.
The cumbersome equipment, the need for precise lighting, and the intricate chemical processes involved in developing photographs meant that each image was a labour-intensive production. This is particularly evident in the panoramic photographs of Felice Beato, one of the most well-known war and travel photographers of the time. Beato arrived in India in 1858, just after the First War of Independence, to document the aftermath.
His photographs of Lucknow, Delhi, and Kanpur are some of the earliest and most detailed visual records of the rebellion’s impact. However, Beato was not merely documenting historical events; he was creating a visual narrative that aligned with the colonial perspective. His famous panoramic views, such as those of China Bazaar in Lucknow, are both technically masterful and ideologically charged.
The desolate landscapes he captured emphasised the devastation of the mutiny while reinforcing the British narrative of reclaiming control. Beato’s panoramas required immense technical skill. Each panorama was made up of multiple overlapping images, meticulously aligned to create a seamless final product.
The process involved carefully pivoting the camera on a tripod, rapidly producing negatives to maintain consistent lighting, and ensuring uniform tones in the composite image. Any slight discrepancy between the prints would be immediately noticeable, making the creation of these panoramas a feat of both aesthetic and technical precision. Beato’s photographs, however, also reveal the complexities of the colonial gaze.
His images are often staged, with portraits of British personalities affected by the revolt, creating a visual narrative that centres on the colonisers rather than the colonised. These images, though framed as documentary, are deeply implicated in the project of empire. Samuel Bourne, renowned for his picturesque images of India, particularly from his Himalayan expeditions (1863-66), elevated photography to the level of fine art.
However, behind the beauty of these images lay a hidden reality. Bourne’s expeditions were massive logistical operations, involving large teams of porters and assistants who carried his equipment and supplies to remote locations. The impact of these expeditions on the local communities and ecosystems was significant, often disrupting delicate resource systems as the sudden influx of outsiders consumed food and other necessities.
The photographers, in their pursuit of the picturesque, left a footprint that was not just visual but also material. The photographs of Linnaeus Tripe, appointed photographer of the Madras Presidency in 1857, are also to be noted. Tripe photographed the temples and monuments in southern India, including the Great Pagoda of Madura.
But he often faced restrictions in photographing sacred spaces, and his work reflects both the limitations and possibilities of photography as a medium. He also documented festival adornments, symbolising the deeper cultural and religious significance of the sites he captured. Raja Deen Dayal, one of India’s most famous photographers from the 19th century, also plays a prominent role in the exhibition.
Appointed court photographer to the Nizam of Hyderabad, Deen Dayal’s images captured the grandeur of the royal palace, estates, and various monuments across India. His 1888 album Views of the HH the Nizam’s Dominion, Hyderabad Deccan was a gift to visiting dignitaries and exemplifies how photography was used as a tool of diplomacy and cultural exchange. Deen Dayal’s work culminated in his appointment as ‘Photographer to Her Imperial Majesty Queen Victoria,’ cementing his international reputation.
Edmund David Lyon’s photograph of the Ramisseram Pagoda demonstrates the lengths to which early photographers went to capture architectural details. To illuminate the dark corridor behind the pillars, Lyon employed a team of assistants holding reflective plates or mirrors, strategically positioned to direct light into the shadows. Even this wasn’t sufficient to capture the intricate carvings on the pillars, so Lyon had the details sketched separately and later photographed onto the final print.
In fact, institutions like the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) were “never really happy with just photographs”; they demanded measurable details—plans, sections, elevations, and detailed drawings—alongside the visual records. As Guha puts it: “How far can the photograph see?” The exhibition challenges the notion of photographs as simple, objective records of the past. Instead, they are “complex visual material” whose meanings have shifted over time, influenced by evolving photographic techniques, collecting practices, and the circulation of images.
The exhibition also showcases a wide range of photographic objects, including paper and glass negatives, collotypes, albumen prints, stereographs, and even the earliest postcards of Indian monuments. Histories in the Making presents photography as both a tool of empire and a means of shaping academic disciplines. A recorder of history, but also an active participant in the construction of knowledge and power.
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