Osian's Auction Catalogue The Masterpieces Series | March 2010

91 The Masterpieces SerieS 50 M. S enathipathi (b.1939) Untitled Ink and watercolour on paper (pasted on ply board), 1980 S/d in English ‘M. Senathipathi 80’ l.r. 58.2 x 37.6 in (147.9 x 95.4 cm) Provenance Private Collection, Mumbai INR 1,000,000 – 1,500,000 US$ 20,830 – 31,250 “Senathipathi describes his technique briefly: ‘I steep a paper completely in water and when it is damp, begin to draw upon it with black ink. The lines flow gracefully and while the paper is still moist, my composition is almost complete.’ At times, due to the speed at which he works, accidental effects are created – smudges and ink spatters in the crevices of the hand-made paper – resulting in amazing textures’ (J. Sultan Ali, rpt. in Express Magazine, 3 March 1985). Senathipathi was one of the founding members of the Cholamandal Artists’ Village. He is also one of the most prominent figurative painters in the southern region. Being a quite gentle presence in the collective, he has always let his work take up a form rather than project himself as its creator. Senathipathi fondly acknowledges his uncle, the only artistically inclined member of his family, who painted large pictures of gods and goddesses on the walls of his ancestral home. Senathipathi’s language of fluid, lyrical lines, brilliant and well manoeuvered colours and dense pattern was an effect of his mentor, K. C. S. Panicker. Universally understandable subject matter fascinated him throughout.