Views of India!

Samuel Bourne, a renowned British expeditionary photographer, traveled extensively in India from 1863 to 1869, capturing both architectural and natural landscapes. His photographs balanced structured forms with the grandeur of nature, often including people for scale but emphasizing the dominance of the environment. Leaving a banking career in 1862, Bourne pursued his passion for photography, documenting his journeys for the British Journal of Photography.

Kashmir: a bridge over the river Jehlum with a view of Baramula.

View of Eden Gardens, Calcutta. Dated 1865. Courtesy of the British Library, London.

The great mosque of Aurungzebe and adjoining ghats at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh — The ghats at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Image courtesy of the British Library, London.

Rajarajesvara Temple in Thanjavur, India.

Seringham temple at Tiruchirapalli in India.

Bourne’s images showcase exceptional technical skill, creative composition, and a masterful use of light and shadow to highlight the beauty of India’s diverse landscapes. His photographs display a compositional elegance which appealed to Victorian notions of the ‘picturesque’; strategically framed landscapes of rugged mountain scenery, forests, rivers, lakes and rural dwellings.