Festival on the Ganges, Benaras, India (Feestdag aan de Ganges te Benaras India)

This dreamy painting of Benaras by Dutch artist Marius Bauer brings out his ability to capture a landscape’s nuances while using it as a background for human activity. The riverfront here has just enough elements to identify the holy city while it is the river with its busy traffic that provides the subject of the painting. European artists coming to India were drawn to Benaras, but where Bauer succeeds is in portraying the ancient city with a vibrant present where religion and commerce go hand in hand. The launch he paints had earlier been used to ferry the Prince of Wales on his visit.