This photo below has been a subject of much debate over the past two centuries and if some of the facts are correct, it depicts an intriguing connection between India and one of the most celebrated authors of all time, a thread. 1/17
Born in 1723 in Devon in northwest England, Joshua Reynolds was attracted to the art of drawing at a very early age. As the years went by Reynolds established himself as one of the finest painters in the mid-17th century eventually founding the Royal Academy of Arts. 2/17
One particular painting of Reynolds however draws special attention. Hanging in the Gemäldegalerie in central Berlin and titled "George Clive and his Family with an Indian Maid", the painting with its exquisite brushwork is intriguing for more reasons than one. 3/17
The date of the painting is obscure; it first surfaced among the collections of one Sir Alexander Thomson, in the early 19th century, when it was simply known as “A Family group, with Black Servant”. 4/17
By the 1830s it had undergone a significant name change, it was then assumed that it was a portrayal of the Lord and Lady Clive, one of their daughters and a Hindoo nurse, Lord Clive being the infamous Robert Clive himself. 5/17
But that identification didn’t stay for long; it was later claimed that the picture portrayed a different Clive, cousin of Robert, George Clive, and his family, but even this identity came to be questioned a century later in the 1960s as George’s whereabouts were discovered. 6/17
Now, this is where it gets interesting, it was argued that the actual family in the picture was a certain Tysoe Hancock, his wife Philadelphia Austen, their daughter Eliza and their maid. The family was believed to have good ties with Reynolds when he drew this picture. 7/17
Hancock, a native of Kent joined the East India Company as a man of medicine and sailed to Calcutta in the early 1750s where he became close friends with Warren Hastings, who would, later on, go on to become the first governor-general of British-controlled India. 8/17
A couple of years later Hancock met Philadelphia, the sister of Reverend George Austen who was at the time on a husband's hunting trip in India. Philadelphia was looking to marry someone in power & wealth, the couple got married in 1953. 9/17
Soon after, a daughter was born named Eliza, though it is debated that she came not from the wedlock of Hancock and Philadelphia but from an affair between Philadelphia and Hastings. The affair, however, didn’t seem to cause any damage to Hancock’s & Hastings's friendship. 10/17
The Hancock family travelled back to England in 1765 with one of their maids Clarinda and it was at that time that they came in contact with Reynolds to draw a family portrait. 11/17
It is believed to have been a series of paintings which was later sold as “The family group, with black servent”. 12/17
The whereabouts of that series of pictures by Reynolds were unknown for a while. Tysoe Hancock returned to India to make a fortune again but succumbed to a bout of malaria and was buried in Calcutta. The story however doesn’t end here. 13/17
Some of Eliza’s and her mother’s exotic and exuberant adventures were later captured in words by her famous cousin Jane Austen. Jane was 8 years old when a 20-year-old Eliza barged into her life and awed her with her magnetic presence and beauty. 14/17
During her stay in Paris, Eliza would often write to her cousins providing vivid descriptions of the many sights and scenes of Paris, of the plays, and of the parties. After her mother’s death, Eliza moved to London where her hand was asked in marriage by Jane’s brothers. 15/17
First by Jane’s eldest James who she refused and then by another brother Henry. Jane would often visit Eliza as she would throw parties reminiscent of her days in Paris. 16/17
Eliza’s life was, however, cut short as she died at the age of 51, from breast cancer with Henry & Jane by her side. Her magnetic personality is believed to have inspired the character of Mary Crawford in Jane's novel, Mansfield Park, published in 1814. 17/17
Sources: Hitherto unrecognized picture of Tysoe Saul Hancock, Philadelphia Austen, Eliza Hancock, & Clarinda, Indian maid, Ellen Moody, reveriesunderthesignofausten.wordpress.com
Image Attributes: Painting by Joshua Reynolds in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin showing Hancock, Indian maid Clarinda, daughter Elizabeth and wife Philadelphia, 1765, from @WikiCommons; Sir Joshua Reynolds - Self-Portrait, from @WikiCommons;
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, by Nathaniel Dance, from @WikiCommons; Warren Hastings by Tilly Kettle, from @WikiCommons; Jane Austin, from Hulton Archive/Getty Images
corrigendum: In the second tweet Reynold's timeline has been said to be around 17th century which is incorrect, it should be 18th century. Tysoe Hancock and Philadelphia Austen's marriage year was also wrongly said to be 1953 when it should be 1753.
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