A Couple (from the series Costumes and Professions)mid-1800s · Study 2001.164

Context from the museum

This work was made by Indian artists for a member of the British East India Company. It was painted in the southern style of Company school painting, which is distinguished by its bold outlines, saturated color, and heavy application of gold. The priest on the right bears the sectarian markings of a follower of the Hindu god Vishnu on his forehead, chest, arms, and flag. A 19th-century British inscription on its surviving fly sheet, a protective cover of tissue paper, states that this priest made his living by praying to the “native doorway” early every morning. The survival of this commentary reveals how British collectors used these apparently objective depictions of costumes and professions to implicate Indian holy men in strange or even charlatan behavior.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected overall measurement for A Couple (from the series Costumes and Professions) is 19.9 cm wide and 24.1 cm high, equivalent to approximately 7.8 × 9.5 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.83:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.05 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 6.6% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 140.1 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With A Couple (from the series Costumes and Professions) in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 19.9 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?