Indian Sculpture and Painting, Illustrated by Typical Masterpieces, with an Explanation of their Motives and Ideals c12.114

c12.114

Plate LXVI., "Travellers round a Camp-fire," is from a modern picture in the Calcutta Art Gallery, which is not unworthy of comparison with the great *genre* works of the old Dutch school; though the methods are different there is the same sincerity in the execution, the same feeling for the poetry of chiaroscuro. A group of travellers are seated round a blazing fire in the compound of a *dharmasala*, a native rest-house. The artist has been attracted by the effect of the firelight in the darkness, and, with the simplicity and directness of true genius, he has given a wonderful "impression" of it—what Whistler would have called a symphony in black, gold, and green. We see some figures of the circle in the full glare of the firelight placed in bold relief against the darkness of the night; others silhouetted against the blaze; the reflection on the walls, the trunks, and lower branches of the trees; the flash on the window and under the eaves of the house; the ghostly shadows, and the [Figure: PLATE LXVII