Dal Lake, Kashmir

Dal Lake, Kashmir captures one of the most celebrated bodies of water in the Indian subcontinent. Situated in the Vale of Kashmir at an elevation of over 1,500 meters and ringed by the snow-capped peaks of the Pir Panjal range, Dal Lake has been compared by travelers and poets to an earthly paradise since Mughal emperors built their pleasure gardens along its shores in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Bartlett's 1916 color woodcut renders the lake's famous mirror-like surface, where the surrounding mountains, houseboats, and floating gardens create doubled reflections of extraordinary clarity. The cool blue-green palette of the Kashmir highlands contrasts markedly with the warm tones of his Indian lowland subjects, demonstrating Bartlett's sensitivity to the specific light conditions of each location. The Japanese woodblock technique's capacity for transparent layered color proved ideal for depicting water, and Bartlett exploits this fully in his treatment of the lake's reflective surface.