. English: 'Departure for the Hunt' (), a Rajasthani court scene by Edwin Lord Weeks Source: +606+1839305360+&QR=M+1+284+Aqc0000900+581++Aqc0000900+&entry=india&SU=1&RQ=True&AN=285 (downloaded Oct. 2001) 'Edwin Lord Weeks (American, 1849-1903). Departure for the Hunt. Signed ' Weeks' and stamped with the artist's moghul device (lower left). Oil on canvas, 37½ x 27¼ in. ( x cm.). Lot Notes: Executed circa 1885, The Departure for the Hunt is an outstanding example of Weeks' Indian oeuvr
. English: 'Departure for the Hunt' (), a Rajasthani court scene by Edwin Lord Weeks Source: +606+1839305360+&QR=M+1+284+Aqc0000900+581++Aqc0000900+&entry=india&SU=1&RQ=True&AN=285 (downloaded Oct. 2001) 'Edwin Lord Weeks (American, 1849-1903). Departure for the Hunt. Signed ' Weeks' and stamped with the artist's moghul device (lower left). Oil on canvas, 37½ x 27¼ in. ( x cm.). Lot Notes: Executed circa 1885, The Departure for the Hunt is an outstanding example of Weeks' Indian oeuvre, and represents a return to a familiar theme among his depictions of life in the Rajput princely courts of India. This painting depicts the gathering of a hunting party consisting of regal personages, servants, horses, and a trained cheetah in the forecourt of a palace. The casual scene, and Weeks clearly depicts it as such, is framed by a precise rendering of a red sandstone gate pavilion and stables, with a tantalizing glimpse of the white marble palace in the background. The red sandstone and white plaster walls, and wood details, are characteristic of north or north central India, and suggest that the painting is set in a Rajahstani city such as Jodhpore or Jaipur. Weeks produced at least two other notable versions of this subject, each altogether different in its setting and characterization. The Rajah Starting on a Hunt (Metropolitan Museum of Art), of similar size to the present painting, also features a princely figure on horseback with a cheetah within a palatial courtyard. The other entitled Start for the Hunt at Gwalior (Private Collection), larger than the other two, depicts mounted princely figures, with following attendants, en route to the hunt through a city street. In each case, for Weeks the anticipation of the hunt was a more interesting subject than the hunt itself, as the preparation afforded the opportunity to depict both figures and animals in an evoc
Size: 1908px × 2620px
Photo credit: © The Picture Art Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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