John Gantz & son

John Gantz was an Austrian-born architect, painter, and surveyor. Gantz worked for the East India Company between 1800 and 1803 as a draftsman and architect. With his elder son, Justinian Gantz, they set up the first lithographic press in Madras -now Chennai, one of the first in India by 1827.

They both had appetence and taste for making drawings of landscapes, scenes, and views of social life in the region. Their joint effort for the East India Company left some very similar artistic watercolours, some of which can be appreciated on this page.

Gantz's drawings depict the city's bridges and architectural structures, its inhabitants in their daily activities, modes of transportation, Indian crafts and occupations; he also painted picturesque landscapes of India. His son appears to have been more specialised in drawings of European houses in Madras.

A handwritten list of Madras residents dated March 1819 lists John Gantz as "architect, native of India", showing the influence the Gantz had on the region.

On of their most significant (and publicly available) work legacy remains the Manuscript "Descriptive letter press to the Indian Microcosm", 1827. The book is a compilation of drawings from the Gantz father and son, with attached descriptions of what each drawing depicts.