New Delhi

Artists

Description

A scene of urban sprawl in the outer neighborhoods of Delhi. The photograph, taken from an areal viewpoint provides a birdseye view upon a large swath of land, where small figures and vehicles interact within a highly structured, if desolate, urban space. In this image, Singhal has created a strong traditional landscape composition: with atmospheric perspective, clear fore, middle, and backgrounds and powerful orthagonals formed by streets, rows of buildings, train tracks, and a canal that recede into a vast, unsee-able horizon. Also similar to Western landscape traditions is the depiction of a strong, flat horizon line and large field of sky, which takes up over a third of the composition. The color palete of this photograph is subdued, earthtones (that very tan earth and red clay of Delhi) and soft greys, which agree with the hazy sky and sinking sunlight of dusk, the time the photograph was taken. The only colors that disrupt this restrained image are the brilliant green and yellow of the CNG rickshaws, and the glowing red of streetlights and the digital clock.

Dimensions

76.2 x 101.6 cm (30 x 40 in.)

Provenance

Rishi Singhal (2004-2008), sold [through Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, India]; to Conley Harris and Howard Truelove, 2008, gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2008.