Osian's Auction Catalogue Creative India Series 1 Bengal | December 2011

g anesh P yne b. 11 June 1937 Woman in Red Tempera on paper collage (pasted on masonite board), c. 1967 10.4 x 6.8 in (26.0 x 17.2 cm) Provenance Purchased by consignee from Christie’s (NewYork, 2005). ` 800,000 – 1,200,000 US$ 16,000 – 24,000 117 1780 1800 1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1910 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1980 1990 1995 2000 2005 “ With the temperas, his style matured and evolved its own identity. The figuration became more angular. The treatment of the eyes varied. Elongated in shape, they stretch out to meet the contour line of the face. In this, he is not very different from the traditional style… He began to texturise his paintings more obviously, intensifying the air of mystery. In the creation of archetypal or iconic forms, he began to draw from elements of folk painting. When asked about these changes, he said that the medium demanded it. According to Pyne, tempera is such a soft, flat medium that to give it tonal variation, depth and interesting contrasts, he had to change his style accordingly. He also began to take a long time to finish each tempera. Building up the layers with short, hatching strokes and waiting for the paint to dry before the next layer can be applied is a painstaking process. What Pyne never says but it is obvious in his work is that with the use of tempera, he has devised a style whereby he gives an enigmatic form to his melancholy interior world without screaming out loud his personal sorrows and sense of loss. [Datta, Ella [1998]. Ganesh Pyne: His Life and Times. Calcutta: CIMA; p.46] 249 248 Creative India BENGAL | Nikhil Biswas, Arun Bose, Prokash Karmakar, Shyamal Dutta Ray & Ganesh Pyne