Lt. Joseph Moore

In 1824, following Burmese incursions into British held territory and the successful invasion of Assam, the Governor General of India declared war on Burma. The British sent an expedition of 11,000 men under Maj General Archibald Campbell and ships under Captain Frederick Marryat. Providing a visual record from the departure of Campbell's invasion force until shortly after the capture of Rangoon, this superb series of aquatints were after drawings made "on the spot" by Lieutenant Joseph Moore of the 89th Regiment; a second series of six plates by Marrayat was published the following year. 

Moore’s aquatints are the first large-scale, coloured views of Burma and beautifully express the dichotomy between picturesque idylls and the realities of war. Although developed in the late 17th century, the Aquatint process was not introduced into England until the 1770’s by Paul Perez Burdett who had studied under the renowned Jean Baptiste Le Prince in Paris. Burdett sold his process to Paul Sandby who developed it further, coining the term aquatint. This new technique enabled much greater atmospheric variety to be achieved, recreating the tonal complexities of paintings. Although the medium became favoured by many continental masters, it was English etchers who employed it most elaborately as an expression of the Cult of the Picturesque, an aspect of The Romantic Movement.