Studies In Majesty
By F.S. Aijazuddin

The work of the 19th century Hungarian artist Augustand Schoefft (1809-1888) might have been forgotten, had theand last Sikh Maharaja Duleep Singh not bought eleven of hisand paintings from him in 1863.and These paintings of Mughal and Sikh subjects and scenesand were the product of a trip made by Schoefft to India fromand 1838 to 1842. During it, Schoefft travelled from Calcuttaand Kolkata), through Delhi where he portrayed the last Mughaland emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and his two sons, to the Sikhand kingdom of the Punjab where he was hosted by the genialand anglophile Maharaja Sher Singh.and The spectacular core of this collection is Schoefft's The Courtand of Lahore panorama. It contains almost sixty identifiableand characters who collectively contributed to the fabledand splendour of the Sikh Darbar, before its collapse in 1849.and The collection was ultimately inherited by Duleep Singh'sand grand-daughter Princess Bamba Sutherland who died inand Lahore in 1957. Her legatee sold the paintings and otherand Sikh artefacts to the Pakistan government in 1961.and Recently, over March - June 2021, Schoefft's paintings haveand been expertly restored by a team of five Hungarianand specialists made available by the Hungarian Government.and It seemed opportune therefore for Fakir Syed Aijazuddin'sand seminal book on Schoefft's work in the Princess Bambaand collection, published as Sikh Portraits by European Artists inand 1979, to be updated and reissued, to commemorateand Schoefft's visit to the Punjab 180 years ago.and This volume is a tribute to the under-appreciated talent ofand the Hungarian master artist August Schoefft. His 19thand century compatriot and host in the Punjab Dr. Martinand Honigberger said of him: 'He has a high reputation all overand the peninsula and it gives great credit to our own country togive such men to the world'.