Osian's Auction Catalogue Masterpieces and Museum-Quality III | March 2004

155 MASTERPIECES & MUSEUM-QUALITY III “…to Sreenivasulu and artists like him the attraction for folk art is a matter of deliberate choice. He seizes upon the beauty of form and colour characteristic of folk art, crystallizes and reinterprets the various elements evolving a personal and original style…There is something primeval, archaic in the figuration, a kind of stoicism and vitality exudes from these crude, stalwart men and women. The exaggerated, angular eyes and the big head on the stout neck appear significant and symbolic of a new understanding of the nature of man.” (S.A.Krishnan, rpt. in K. Sreenivasulu . LKA 1966.) “His father was an amateur toy maker and was deeply interested in dramatics which was an abiding family interest. Young Sreenivasulu was thus brought up in this fine atmosphere of toys and dramatics. Doubtless this proved to be one of the most enduring influences on him… As he grew, he got more involved in the stage life of the family and started making his own contribution. He learned to paint the back-drops, cut-outs and to make stage-props. The plays were wholly mythological or folk and thus provided thematically a substantial background to the future artist.” (S.A.Krishnan, rpt. in ibid 1966.)