5/5 Ismael M. 4 years ago on Google
St.
John's
Church,
originally
a
cathedral,
was
among
the
first
public
buildings
erected
by
the
East
India
Company
after
Kolkata
(Calcutta)
became
the
effective
capital
of
British
India.
It
is
located
at
the
North-Western
corner
of
Raj
Bhavan,
and
served
as
the
Anglican
Cathedral
of
Calcutta
till
1847,
when
the
see
was
transferred
to
St.
Paul's
Cathedral.
Construction
of
the
building,
modelled
on
St
Martin-in-the-Fields
of
London,
started
in
1784,
with
Rs
30,000
raised
through
a
public
lottery,
and
was
completed
in
1787.
It
is
the
third
oldest
church
in
the
city,
next
to
the
Armenian
and
the
Old
Mission
Church.
The
church
is
a
large
square
structure
in
the
Neoclassical
architectural
style.
A
stone
spire
174
ft
tall
is
its
most
distinctive
feature.
The
spire
holds
a
giant
clock,
which
is
wound
every
day
One
of
the
driving
forces
behind
the
construction
of
the
cathedral
was
Chaplain
William
Johnson,
the
husband
of
Begum
Johnson.
Tall
columns
frame
the
church
building
on
all
sides
and
the
entrance
is
through
a
stately
portico.
The
floor
is
a
rare
hue
of
blue-grey
marble,
brought
from
Gaur.
Large
windows
allow
the
sunlight
to
filter
through
the
coloured
glass.
The
main
altar
is
of
a
simple
design.
Behind
the
altar
is
a
semi-circular
dome
and
the
floor
is
of
dark
blue,
almost
black,
stone.
To
the
left
of
the
altar
hangs
a
painting
of
The
Last
Supper
by
the
British
artist
of
German
origin,
Johann
Zoffany.
On
the
right
is
a
beautiful
stained
glass
window.
The
walls
of
the
church
contain
memorial
tablets,
statues
and
plaques,
mostly
of
British
army
officers
and
civil
servants.
James
Achilles
Kirkpatrick,
popularly
known
as
the
White
Mughal
was
the
central
character
of
William
Dalrymple
best
selling
work
of
history
White
Mughals
died
in
Calcutta
on
15
October
1805
at
the
age
of
41.
He
was
buried
at
the
North
Park
Street
Cemetery,
but
neither
his
grave
nor
the
cemetery
exists
today.
James
Achilles
Kirkpatrick's
father
James
Kirkpatrick,
popularly
known
as
the
Handsome
Colonel,
along
with
his
brothers
erected
a
memorial
in
memory
of
James
Achilles
Kirkpatrick
on
the
southern
wall
of
the
St.
John's
Church.
The
overblown
and
oddly
inappropriate
epitaph,
erected
still
stands
to
this
day
On
the
walls
of
the
St.
John's
Church
hangs
a
painting
modeled
after
Leonardo
da
Vinci's
painting
The
Last
Supper.
Painted
by
Johann
Zoffany,
the
painting
is
not,
however,
an
exact
replica
of
Leonardo's
masterpiece.
The
top
left-hand
corner
of
the
painting
shows
a
sword,
which
represents
a
common
peon's
tulwar.
A
water
ewer
standing
near
the
table
is
a
copy
of
Hindustani
spittoon
and
next
to
it
lies
a
water-filled
beesty
bag
(a
goatskin
bag
used
for
storing
water).
The
most
unusual
feature
of
Zoffany's
Last
Supper
lies
in
the
selection
of
models
used
to
represent
Jesus
and
his
twelve
disciples.
Jesus
was
portrayed
as
the
Greek
priest
Father
Constantinos
Parthenios.[6]
while
John
is
represented
by
W.C.
Blacquiere,
the
police
magistrate
of
Calcutta
during
the
1780s.
Judas
was
portrayed
as
the
auctioneer
William
Tulloh[7]
In
short,
these
are
all
people
of
power
at
the
time,
including
people
from
the
East
India
Trading
Company.
Zoffany's
Last
Supper
has
been
restored
as
the
result
of
a
co-operation
between
the
INTACH
Art
Conservation
Centre
and
the
Goethe
Institut,
both
of
Calcutta.
They
sponsored
the
German
painting
conservator
Renate
Kant
(based
in
Singapore)
to
supervise
the
restoration
and
train
the
restorers
of
the
INTACH
Centre.
The
restoration
of
Zoffany's
Last
Supper
was
completed
on
3
July
2010
1 person found this review helpful 👍
