General Sir David Baird Discovering the Body of Sultan Tippoo Sahib after having Captured Seringapatam, on the 4th May, 1799

While serving in the British Army, Sir David Baird spent four years as a captive of Hyder Ali, the powerful ruler of the southern Indian kingdom of Mysore. After his release, Sir Baird avenged his imprisonment during the Third and the Fourth Anglo-Mysore wars by defeating Hyder Ali's son, Tipu Sultan. Tipu Sultan was killed in battle at Seringapatam in 1799 during the Fourth war. 

This dramatic composition by Sir David Wilkie measures about 11.5 feet wide and 12 feet tall. It was commissioned by Baird's widow after his death and took four years to complete. Baird is shown symbolically just above the dungeon where he had been imprisoned as he discovered the body of Tipu Sultan. A sculpture of Baird by Laurence Macdonald was used by Wilkie to incorporate his likeness.

Wilkie was an accomplished artist and was appointed as Principal Painter in Ordinary to King William IV and then Queen Victoria. His works were often royal commissions of portraitures and historical scenes such as this painting.

- Maya Tola

P.S. Let's have a closer look at contemporary Indian art starting with a guide to spotting a Ravinder Reddy sculpture here!