Portret van een onbekende Rajput before 1868

This photograph of an unknown Rajput was taken by Benjamin Simpson in India during the 19th century. The image is striking because of the sitter’s gaze, which is level and direct. He is well-adorned and appears to be a man of some social standing. Photography at this time in India was closely linked to colonial administration, which had a keen interest in documenting the population, mapping the landscape, and recording local customs. Albums of photographs like this one were commissioned by the British administration and widely circulated both in India and in Britain. What was the role of photography in shaping colonial knowledge about India? To what extent did the sitter in this photograph exercise any agency over how he was represented? These questions are just a start for the art historian. Further research into photography and British colonialism, as well as the social history of the Rajput people, would undoubtedly shed more light on this fascinating image.