Osian's Auction Catalogue The Masterpieces and Museum Quality Series | October 2004

82 OSIAN ’ s–CONNOISSEURS OF ART 52 Dhanraj BHAGAT [ 1917-1987/ b . Lahore, present- day Pakistan] Portrait Wood, 1963 62.0 x 17.0 x 11.0 cm (24.4 x 6.7 x 4.3 in) Rs. 300,000 – 400,000 $ 6,500 – 8,650 £ 3,550 – 4,725 ‘Dhanraj Bhagat was the first to absorb the simplicity and the naivete of African sculpture. Under its influence he developed a type of distortion and stylization of the figure in which proportions are elongated and sharp angles and body joints are turned into curves to look like organic forms. The total sculptural object is conceived in terms of linear silhouettes instead of an emphasis on three-dimensionality, despite its volume.’– Dr. Ratan Parimoo, rpt. in India Art: An Overview New Delhi: Rupa & Co. 2003; p172. Please refer to Dhanraj Bhagat . LKA Monograph 1964, Fig.29 for full page B/W Illustration. ‘In these pillars the human figure is like a simile. Eyes are like windows, mouths like doors, heads are like columns or pillars, man is like a tectonic animal, in which round forms are eliminated. We are all like caryatids, carrying the burden of life like great and sturdy pillars, parts of the structure of humanity and of existence.’ – Charles Fabri, rpt. Bhagat. New Delhi: LKA 1964.