Storm on the Ganges, with Mrs. Hastings near the Colgon Rocks

William Hodges, 1744–1797

ca. 1790

Oil on canvas

Yale Center for British Art

A boat with several people navigates rough, choppy water under a dramatic sky with a rainbow. Sunlight breaks through the clouds, illuminating parts of the scene. The rocks of Kahalgaon (known as Colgong during the colonial period) lie along a treacherous stretch of the Ganges River in northeastern India. The boulders are so large that they form small islands, upon which ancient tombs and dwellings were built. During the rainy season, boat travel becomes treacherous. In this scene, a passenger boat hurtles toward the giant rocks, and oarsmen struggle to keep the boat level in the churning water. A rainbow appears in the sky to indicate that the storm will soon pass and the passengers will survive. The painting was commissioned by Warren Hastings, the East India Company’s first governor-genera