National Galleries of Scotland

Bremner's memoir recalled his trip to Kashmir. He wrote: "Pundits, known as learned men of Kashmir, may be seen at prayer on the banks of the Jhelum, and on the way up the river are numerous pretty little villages. Sopor and Sumbal struck me as being the most picturesque... The capital of Kashmir... is a wonderful picture. Srinagar, known as the 'City of the Sun,' is also spoken of as the 'Venice of the East'". The arrangement of this composition looks to have been inspired by Western aesthetics. A spectacular effect is produced by the tree which dwarfs the small boat and frames the picture. Furthermore, by cleverly cropping the lower edge of the image the viewer cannot trace the rational journey from the foreground to the middle distance.