The full-length portrait of a captivating woman depicts her heavily bejewelled and facing towards the viewer. She lifts her brilliant blue gathered skirt with gold-embroidered border to show her silver anklets and toe rings, and at the same time shows the mirror ring on the thumb of her left hand and gold finger rings attached to her bracelets by gold chains. The painting depicts fashion and jewelry of the region, as she wears a full set of head, ear, nose, neck, arm, hand, ankle and foot jewelry and a fine garment richly decorated with “zardozi” (gold wire/thread) embroidery. Her posture is arranged to allow her jewelry, clothes, and footwear to be seen to its best advantage with her shoes in front of her bare feet. This oil painting was shown in the “Colonial and Indian Exhibition” in London in 1886 was bought by the South Kensington Museum the same year. It was described on acquisition as the depiction of "A Native Lady of Umritsar". The artist, Horace Van Ruith produced an almost documentary record of the jewelry and clothes of a lady from Amritsar, now in India, and part of the historic region of the Panjab (Punjab) which is divided between the modern nation states of India and Pakistan. Some historians now question if the portrait is really by van Ruith. Born in Russia in 1839 or 1840 to German parents, he trained in Germany and Italy, then found fame working in India. In his early career, he was known as Horace Jantzen, his family name. After India he moved to London where he lived until his death in 1923. His most common subjects were “daily life” scenes, portraits, and landscapes. He has been associated with the art movements of modernism, academicism, and orientalism. During his life, he produced over 400 oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and illustrations, but fell into relative obscurity after he died.
“A Native Lady of Umritsar” by Horace van Ruith (German-British) - Oil on canvas / c. 1880s - Victoria and Albert Museum (London, England) #WomenInArt #ArtText #PortraitofaWoman #womensart #VAM #VictoriaandAlbertMuseum #art #oilpainting #HoraceVanRuith #Ruith #Amritsar #zardozi #punjab #panjab
