Artists Profile

Henry Salt

(1780 – 1827)

Henry Salt was an artist, traveller, collector of antiquities and a diplomat who extensively travelled through the African and Indian sub-continent. From 1816, he served as Counsel General of Egypt and was appointed fellow of the Royal Society. The paintings, papers, and artifacts he collected remain in the possession of the British Museum who acquired these from him over many years during his adventurous life. His portrayal of India had a strong element of capturing nature and the ancient ruins among them. They are often reminiscent of the past. The landscapes are captured in wide perspective and the monuments tower in the background while human figures appear small, in the distance or right next to the object of focus. It was a display of metaphor that our past, our ancestry and our environment outlived the mere mortality of humans.