Sacred tank and pagodas near Benares, Charles Ramus Forrest, 1808

Sacred tank and pagodas near benares provenance: with spencer's fine art auctioneers, bridlington, where purchased for the present collection. Exhibited: india observed, nos 49 and 50 respectively. Forrest served with the 3rd east kent regiment ('the buffs') from 1802-14, and then with the cumberland regiment of foot. This watercolour, which has been dated circa 1808, belongs to a series that were engraved and published as a picturesque tour along the river ganges and jumna in 1824. The aquatint boasts figures and more detailed foliage, demonstrating the artistic liberties taken by a professional engraver when copying a watercolour. Forrest wrote in his introduction to the series that the composition 'gives an idea of the grandeur and solemn beauty of this scene', 'the extensive and noble tank' being its central attraction. Object Type: painting. Date: 1808. Place of creation: Varanasi. Dimensions: height: 22.9 cm (9 in); width: 33.6 cm (13.2 in). Medium: watercolour. Depicted Place: Varanasi. Charles Ramus Forrest - Sacred tank and pagodas near Benares 2003 CKS 06807 0047