Superb and far reaching idea. Not just watercolors, but pencil drawings and architectural plans etc hidden away; a wealth of information readily at hand, especially if collated properly. My own interest in art is the direct result of seeing watercolors, etchings and pencil drawings from the late 18th and 19th century hanging on museums in Lisbon. As time has passed, much of that; wonderfully done landscapes and city views, have been relegated to hallway closets as relatives disperse, die or do not pass on the history to the next generation. I recall several non romanticized pastoral scenes with specific location detail gone forever. As a recent article in "Jornal Público" pointed out, we have history from the point of view of the One Percenters and practically no history of a people. Hopefully this effort will change that and bring us into some historical focus.

I think I'd distinguish between paintings done for aesthetic purposes which may well have a degree of artistic license about them v's those painted as a record of what was there - the painting of Lahore being a good example. My library has some geographical handbooks from the early 20th Century covering different parts of the world with a range of illustrations which were designed specifically to show what key points would look like from certain angles. Inside the front is the legend that they are top secret and should be returned to...I think it was the Royal Navy. I suspect that the painting of Lahore falls into a similar category, i.e., a working document rather than a decorative work of art. With reference to artistic license - I was once on a holiday in London when somebody commented that what we were looking at would make a beautiful painting if only certain trees weren't in the way. The artist responded "Then don't paint the trees in - that's what makes this art and not photography. You don't think all those landscape paintings included everything that was there do you?"

Incidently, I say something similar when people say the stuff I sketch is not depicting “reality”: “se eu tivesse querido realidade teria tirado uma fotografia...”(If I had wanted reality I’d have taken a picture”).

Fantastic watercolours by fantastic artists, all trained in the art of perspective, all caring. All those damnators of the west for 'global perspectives' and a 'de-centering' of western culture and those that call for a 'decolonization of thought', have a look and a re-think about your passport in your wallet and your air ticket and your sanitary box and your anti-malaria pills, as you read this great book. Understanding history is essential to maintaining an intelligent perspective on how things are today. Anything that helps that is a worthwhile project, in my opinion.

Some of my stuff:

https://manuelaantao.blogspot.com/2020/03/decolonization-of-thought-watercolor.h... ( )