Osian's Auction Catalogue The Masterpieces Series | March 2010

48 21 c hittAprosAd (1915 – 1978) Tribal Dance, from The Bengal Famine Series Brush & Ink on paper, 1944 S/d in English ‘Chittaprosad 14 March 44’ l.l. Inscribed in English ‘BEZWADA’ l.l. and ‘Lombadi’ on verso 7.4 x 10.9 in (18.7 x 27.7 cm) Provenance THE OSIAN’s COLLECTION. Acquired from the Delhi Art Gallery who in turn acquired it from the artist’s family. INR 480,000 – 720,000 US$ 10,000 – 15,000 22 c hittAprosAd (1915 – 1978) Shri Krishnarjuniyam Watercolour on paper (wash), early 1950s Signed in Bengali on verso Inscribed in Bengali ‘Shri Krishnarjuniyam’ on verso 10.0 x 6.8 in (25.5 x 17.1 cm) Provenance THE OSIAN’s COLLECTION. Acquired from the Delhi Art Gallery who in turn acquired it from the artist’s family. INR 480,000 – 720,000 US$ 10,000 – 15,000 Bengal, which prior to the partition of India covered the state of West Bengal in India and present-day Bangladesh, underwent a catastrophic famine during 1943 – 44, when it was estimated that two million people died of starvation. This dreadful situation continued, in and around important cities in Bengal, especially Calcutta and Dhaka. All intellectuals, specifically the artists and theatre activists, had expressed their anxiety through their artistic practice. Chittaprosad was one of the artists deeply shaken by the catastrophic situation. Towards the mid & late 1940s, the entire nation was going through a transitional phase – an enslaved nation in the last bouts of its struggle for independence. India’s social formation was undergoing revolutionary changes. The feudal system of oppression was shaken and had to be replaced by a democratic system of equality for all. The modern reforms and activities of the progressives were leading the nation into a new era of hope, though a mood of bewilderment also prevailed. It is this mutable phase of struggle and survival that is represented in the works of Chittaprosad. Local protests of the peasant and labourers’ trade unions, the split within the Congress, the tragedy of the Bengal famine and global issues such as the impact of the Second World War on India, have all found expression in Chittaprosad’s revolutionary art, which announces the victory of the exploited and the determination to continue the struggle. His works oppose the British imperialists, the oppressive landlords, and satirize the political indecisiveness of the Congress. Chittaprosad’s linocuts, woodcuts, sketches and drawings were mostly intended to be published in books, magazines and newspapers; thus the dissemination was through unusual artistic media, and had a great mass appeal. The visual language that he adopted adds an additional dimension to his work. He communicated with the illiterate labourers and peasants with his straight-forward, realistic, simple images and a symbol-system understood by everybody. Exhibited and illustrated The Underlying Spirit. Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 2004. Illustrated in catalogue published by Osian’s – Connoisseurs of Art, New Delhi, p.32