Who painted One of seven drawings of people and occupations and a lion.?

One of seven drawings of people and occupations and a lion. was painted by Unknown in 1870.

Where can I see One of seven drawings of people and occupations and a lion.?

One of seven drawings of people and occupations and a lion. is held by Victoria and Albert Museum.

What movement is One of seven drawings of people and occupations and a lion.?

One of seven drawings of people and occupations and a lion. is associated with Patna School of Painting.

Artwork

One of seven drawings of people and occupations and a lion.

Unknown , 1870

One of seven drawings of people and occupations and a lion. is a paint painting by the Patna School of Painting artist Unknown. It dates from 1870 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

About this work

Overview

This small-scale work, executed in paint, belongs to the genre known as Company painting—a style created by Indian artists for British residents and officials in colonial India. Dated to the early 1870s, the piece shows a turbaned figure in a long coat holding a restrained lion, set against a dark, unadorned backdrop that concentrates attention on the pair.

Subject & Meaning

The central figure represents a gardener (mali) or similar occupational role, a common theme in Company paintings that documented native professions for European audiences. The calm, leashed lion serves as a visual curiosity, illustrating the exotic fauna encountered in the subcontinent and suggesting a degree of control or familiarity between the local worker and the animal.

Technique & Style

The artist blends traditional Indian decorative conventions with Western techniques such as chiaroscuro and realistic modeling. Fine brushwork renders the textures of the lion’s fur and the fabric of the coat, while the overall composition retains the flatness and ornamental detail typical of Indian miniature traditions.

History & Provenance

The painting was acquired by John Lockwood Kipling while he directed the Mayo School of Art in Lahore between 1875 and 1893. In 1917 his son, the writer Rudyard Kipling, donated the work to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it remains in the collection.

Context

Company paintings emerged after the British East India Company established a territorial presence, providing visual records of Indian society for officials eager to catalogue local customs, castes, trades, and wildlife. Though the style developed later in the Punjab region—following the British annexation of the area in 1849—by the 1870s it had become a familiar genre among colonial patrons.