FERGUSSON, James (1808–1886)

A highly detailed nineteenth-century architectural view of the Lingaraja Temple complex at Bhubaneswar, one of the great monuments of Odisha’s Kalinga architectural tradition.

The monumental curvilinear rekha deul of the principal sanctuary dominates the composition, surrounded by subsidiary shrines and other structures of the extensive temple complex. Fergusson and Dibdin contrast the extraordinary vertical mass and elaborate stone articulation of the temples with a quieter foreground: two seated figures, a thatched dwelling, palms and the enormous spreading tree at left.

The human figures are deliberately small in relation to the architecture, conveying the immense scale of the principal temple tower.”

Reference: The surviving historical-image record identifies the composition as “Pagoda Mahavellipore,” by Thomas Dibdin, from a drawing by James Fergusson, 1847.