Osian's Auction Catalogue The Osianama Series |February 2013

86 Early 1950s ‘Kshitindranath’s works generally illustrate the mood of some event. There is a lyricism both in the choice of his theme as well as in its depiction, the painting far from being an intellectual exercise is the outcome of a serene faith. Indeed the only parallel to the sweetness of his thought is found in the songs of the mediaeval saints.’ – B.B. Mukherjee, rpt. in ‘Kshitindranath Majumdar’ , LKA 1967. ‘As a teacher, Kshitindranath practiced and professed the aesthetic choices he had carefully learnt from Abanindranath. The conventions of ‘wash’, the construction of form with imagination and mood as determinants, bounded by contour lines following Mughal miniatures, blended with decorative embellishment of Rajput paintings, all combined into the working process. Sadanga, sadrishya and bhavalavanya formed the primary guiding lines for Kshitindranath… He excelled in themes based on episodes from the life of the bhakti saint poet Chaitanya.’ – Sanjoy Mallik rpt. in Manifestations III , DAG ExC 2005; p130. 42 Kshitindranath Majumdar 31 July 1891 – 2 July 1975 Chaitanya In Gambhira Watercolour wash on paperboard, Early 1950s Signed in Bengali ‘Kshitindra’ l.r. Inscribed in English ‘Shri Chaitanya in Gambhira’ and ‘Chaitanya’ on verso 15.4 x 10.9 in (39.1 x 27.7 cm) Provenance The Osian’s Collection ` 800,000 – 1,600,000 US$ 14,550 – 29,100 GBP 10,000 – 20,000 Illustrative Reference Please refer to Parimoo, Ratan & Sandip Sarkar (Eds.). Historical Development of Contemporary Indian Art 1880-1947 . New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi, 2009; p.265 for colour illustrations from the same Chaitanya Series as Lot 42. “However, the technique of his second more elaborate Chaitanya series seems to have been inspired by Tagore’s ‘Music Party’. Lines became “long and flowing, caressingly enclosing forms”. Drawing, for Majumdar was ‘the very bones of the picture’. Adding white to every tonal wash he created a symphony of pastels, pink blending into mauve, peach heightened by tarnished ochres... HIs human figures, lithe and exaggerated in proportion and charged with lyricism of Vaisnava poetry remain unmatched in the Revivalist repertoire.” (ibid, pp.266- 67)