A View of Seringapatam, 1791 circa (oil on canvas)

A View of Seringapatam, 1791 circa. Oil on canvas, artist unknown. Seringapatam (Srirangapatnam) was the fortified capital of Tipu Sultan Shah Bahadur (1750-1799), ruler of Mysore, in Southern India. It is situated on the island of the same name in the River Cauvery (Kaveri), approximately 9 miles (14.5 km) north-east of Mysore city, and named after the island’s ancient temple of Sri Ranganatha Swami (894 AD). In 1791, during the 3rd Mysore War (1790-1792), a British force invaded Mysore, commanded by the Governor-General of India, Lieutenant-General Charles, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738-1805). Tipu was driven back to his stronghold at Seringapatam and although insufficient supplies forced the British to retire, the following year, Cornwallis negotiated a peace treaty. The Sultan ceded a large part of his dominions to the British. This view shows the city from the British position, with Madras soldiers reconnoitring in the foreground and Indian cavalry riding by. Although the artist of this painting has not been identified, the right-hand group of cavalry is the subject of a print after Major James Rennell (1742-1830), showing the Mahratta Army advancing to join Lord Cornwallis near Seringapatam in 1791. Rennell was the first Surveyor-General of Bengal and is known as ‘The father of Indian geography’ for his surveys, maps and reports of India. In 1780, he produced 'A Bengal Atlas', that remained the standard administrative map for the region for half a century. In April 1799, a British force under Lieutenant-General George Harris (later 1st Baron Harris, GCB, 1746-1829), besieged the city a third time in the culminating act of the 4th Mysore War (1799). On 4 May, the city was captured and Tipu was killed in the mêlée. In Britain, news of Tipu’s death was greeted with celebration, as it was believed he had been in league with agents of Revolutionary France.