Who painted Lucknow. The Great Emambara and Mosque?

Lucknow. The Great Emambara and Mosque was painted by Samuel Bourne in 1866.

Where can I see Lucknow. The Great Emambara and Mosque?

Lucknow. The Great Emambara and Mosque is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

What movement is Lucknow. The Great Emambara and Mosque?

Lucknow. The Great Emambara and Mosque is associated with Impressionism.

Artwork

Lucknow. The Great Emambara and Mosque

Samuel Bourne , 1866

Lucknow. The Great Emambara and Mosque is a photography by the Impressionist artist Samuel Bourne. It dates from 1866 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This mid‑nineteenth‑century photograph captures a prominent white mosque and an adjoining arched structure in Lucknow, India.

About this work

If you like old photos of faraway places, look up *Samuel Bourne (British, 1834–1912)*.

You see a tall white mosque and a long arched building in Lucknow, India. The sky is bright, and people in loose clothes walk in front.

This photo was taken in the 1860s, before the buildings were fixed up. It’s one of the few pictures we have of what the place really looked like back then. The photographer traveled all over India to take these shots.

If you like old photos of faraway places, look up *Samuel Bourne (British, 1834–1912)*.

Overview

This mid‑nineteenth‑century photograph captures a prominent white mosque and an adjoining arched structure in Lucknow, India. The composition includes a bright sky and figures in loose garments moving across the foreground, offering a glimpse of everyday activity around the monuments. The image is part of a larger series documenting sites across the Indian subcontinent during the 1860s.

Subject & Meaning

The picture focuses on the Great Emambara and its neighboring mosque, two key elements of Lucknow’s religious and civic landscape. By presenting the buildings in their unaltered state, the photograph records their original scale, materiality, and spatial relationship, providing visual evidence of how the complex functioned within the city’s urban fabric at that time.

Technique & Style

Taken with a large‑format wet‑collodion camera, the image displays the high level of detail typical of mid‑Victorian photographic practice. The stark contrast between the white façade and the bright sky, combined with the shallow depth of field that keeps the architecture sharply rendered while the pedestrians appear softer, reflects the photographer’s emphasis on architectural clarity.

History & Provenance

The photograph was produced during a series of expeditions across India in the 1860s, undertaken by British photographer Samuel Bourne. His collection of fifty images, ranging from Himalayan hill towns to major urban centers such as Lahore, Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, and Calcutta, serves as an important documentary record of monuments before later twentieth‑century restorations.