Osian's Auction Catalogue Indian Modern and Contemporary Art | March 2008

27 5 Studio of Jamini Roy (1887 – 1972) Shiv and Ganesha Signed in Bengali ‘Jamini Roy’, l.r Tempera on matted card, mid 1950s 36.5 x 29.5 in (92.7 x 74.9 cm) INR 1,600,000 – 2,000,000 National Art Treasure Non-Exportable Item 6 Nandalal Bose (1882 – 1966) A Scene from Ramayana S/d in Bengali ‘Nand 6.11.42’, l.l. Tempra on paper, 1942 7.5 x 5.5 in (19.0 x 14.2 cm) INR 800,000 – 1,000,000 National Art Treasure Non-Exportable Item ‘For the theme of his major works of this period he mostly depended on mythology but in conception and presentation of mythic characters and situations he always imparted a new interpretation and infused an impulse of reality. The tension and warmth that saturated his canvas were the reflection of a conscious creative personality engaged in the rigorous endeavour to evolve and project an image of Indian modernity.’ – Satyajit Chaudhury rpt. in Nandalal Bose A Collection of Essays Centenary Volume LKA 1983; p37. ‘ Roy’s heroic search for ‘authentic Indian art’ and his utopian formulation of the village as the site of the nation were of considerable importance to the creation of Indian identity…His art of austere uncompromising simplicity reminds us of Mondrian’s intellectual journey in search of an idea. Jamini Roy’s intense concentration and his ruthless ability to pare down the inessential details to attain a remarkable modernist brevity, boldness and simplicity of expression, became a vehicle for his deep but understated social commitment.’ - Partha Mitter rpt. in The Triumph of Modernism, India’s Artists and the Avant-garde, 1922- 47 OUP 2007; p122. “Even his religious pictures…vibrate with the life they contain; one feels in them the deep pulsations of the Indian people to whom the artist has always remained so near, all the activities of the people of his country he tries to express: religious scenes, strange ritual dances, rustic work. Through the colour as through the form one finds back India, monumental, mystic, but sensual, almost feminine.” Herve Masson-A rpt. in Art of Jamini Roy: A Centenary Volume BAAC ExC 1987; p40.