The Body of the Maharani: Portraiture, Gender and Empire at the Royal Academy 1791–1865

As the British expanded their territorial control and economic exploitation of the Indian subcontinent over the course of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, portraits of Indian sitters became increasingly visible in London’s exhibitions.

In responding to such portraits, critics gave voice to imperial anxieties around race, colonisation and gender. Because most elite Indian women lived in seclusion shielded from public view, their portraits acquired a special charge of voyeuristic allure, just as accounts of visiting the zenana or women’s quarters provided a centrepiece of much British travel writing.

This lecture explores two portraits of upper-class Indian women that were exhibited at the Royal Academy during this period: Francesco Renaldi’s Portrait of a Mughal Lady (painted in 1787, exhibited in 1791), and George Richmond’s Maharani Jind Kaur (painted 1863, exhibited 1865).

Bookending a seventy-year period of immense political upheaval, these portraits and their reception reveal the transformation in the relationship between British colonisers and Indigenous elites, as expressed in the popular fascination with the lives of upper-class Indian women.

Focusing on debates around adornment, visibility and women’s political power, a paired analysis of these two portraits offers a new vantage point on the development of both British and Indian art under colonialism.

Image caption: George Richmond, Portrait of Maharani Jind Kaur, the wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 1863, oil on panel, 45 x 61.3 cm. Private Collection. Image courtesy of Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images

Event format and access

The event starts with a presentation lasting around 40 mins followed by Q&A and a free drinks reception. The event is hosted in our Lecture Room, which is up two flights of stairs (there is no lift). The talk will also be streamed online, and the recording published on our website.