During the hectic activity of Madras Week, I received an email from Roshini Roy Festus, a research scholar. She raised a question regarding the depiction of the Last Supper which forms the altarpiece at Fort St. George. The commonly accepted story, she wrote, is that it was part of the loot following the sack of Pondicherry in 1758, but in my book A Guide to Fort St George I had said this was not so, it being a work of George Willison, a painter who came to Madras in the 18th Century. What was the basis for my claim, she asked. Fortunately, this was something I had a ready answer for and could respond at once. The clarification is in a publication by the church itself. Titled The Church in the Fort, a History of St Mary’s, it was written by W.H. Warren and N. Barlow, in 1905, and subsequently published as a fresh edition in 1980 with sadly many typographical errors added. The authors attribute this correction to Sir William Foster, CIE, hailed in his time by the Royal Society of Arts “for his knowledge of British artistes in India”.
A week later, I was in Scotland and took in the National Gallery at Edinburgh. The Scots, as is well known, were in the forefront of Empire building in several capacities and I was sure that I would find some familiar faces. I was not disappointed. But the pleasantest surprise of all was seeing an oil of Nawab Mohammad Ali Wallajah, holding his own among the portraits of dour Scotsmen. This painting was by George Willison too.
The biographical sketch of the artist, placed on one side of the artwork, gave some interesting details. Willison (1717-1795) was born in Edinburgh and “trained as an artist with the help of his wealthy uncle, George Dempster, a Director of the East India Company. After a period in Rome, Willison settled in London. Although he enjoyed some success as a portrait painter, competition in the capital was fierce. With his uncle’s help, he therefore decided to seek his fortune in India. He arrived in Madras in 1774 and attracted the patronage of the fabulously extravagant Nawab of the Carnatic.” The note adds that Willison received more than 17,000 pounds (!!!) for his work for the Nawab, enabling him to return from India in 1780 as a wealthy man.
The write-up ends with the half-hearted acknowledgements of exploitation that Europeans seem to have perfected these days — “(The portrait) places a detailed depiction of the Nawab in native dress in an emphatically European setting. This reflects the complex, and sometimes fraught, relations between the very different cultures of India and the increasingly powerful British colonists.”
Sir William Foster states that the Last Supper was commissioned by the Nawab. It was very likely therefore gifted by him to the Church of St Mary’s. And so that clears the air on the painting. The portrait of the Nawab in the possession of the National Gallery in Edinburgh is lucky, for it has been restored beautifully and displayed in perfect lighting. The same cannot be said of the Last Supper, praised for being in the best Raphaelite tradition. It is hardly visible from the pews at the Church of St Mary’s. It is high time that the Church commissioned the Chitra Kala Parishad or some such body to restore it. Clearly, many people other than the colonists were also making money on the Nawab’s generosity, Willison being a prime example. Two more such names were Thomas Parry and John Binny.
(V. Sriram is a writer and historian.)
