Osian's Auction Catalogue Indian Antiquities and Modern and Contemporary Fine Arts | June 2015

Bimal Dasgupta 28 December 1917 – 17 June 1995 Houses Oil on canvas, 1962 S/d in English ‘B. Das Gupta 62’ l.r. 47.2 x 35.8 in (120.0 x 91.0 cm) Provenance Private Collection, Mumbai Illustrative Reference Bimal Dasgupta [Text] rpt. in Bimal Dasgupta. Dhoomi Mal Art Gallery Solo ExC. 1976. Refer DAG Manifestations II, p.83. Date of image differs; text and Full Colour Illustration ` 600,000 – 900,000 US$ 10,000 – 15,000 GBP 6000 – 9000 Biren De 8 October 1926 – 12 March 2011 Untitled Oil on canvas, 1963 S/d in English ‘Biren DE 63’ l.r. & verso 23.8 x 35.8 in (60.5 x 90.9 cm) Provenance Private Collection, Mumbai ` 1,200,000 – 1,800,000 US$ 20,000 – 30,000 GBP 12000 – 18000 Full image on pp. 120-121 ‘By now the shapes which were first definite and then indefinite and broad became reduced to two major forms. Some curved and U-like – which may be thought of as feminine and others straight and wedge like or masculine. These symbols were small and were arranged or moved or floated within the space of the frame. The ground was coloured more softly and the colours were textured. Biren also began to use impasto and the thickness or thinness of the paint formed a subsidiary interest…A new phase had begun and becomes consolidated about 1963…The colour is vibrant and rich with large areas of black or ‘dark’ and with occasional areas of purple or green…Biren’s recent work seeks the unity of these and other fundamental shapes.They are not new, for it is the ancient circle and square, the U and the cylinder that are here. But the forms are confronted or fitted or involved in a unique way.’ – Jaya Appasamy rpt. in Biren De: a journey as seen by 5 contemporaries 1972. Bimal Dasgupta came to be regarded as one of the leading watercolourists in the 50s of the previous century for his rich palette and sure handling of the medium. Essentially a landscape artist, he broadened the envelope of the traditional landscape by exploring seascapes and undersea representations.These were marked by a masterful rendering of such elements as coral reefs, algae and rocks in various compositions. After a tour of Europe, he started painting in oil in the 60s and continued producing a body of work exclusively in this medium for several years. His work during this period, like this painting entitled Houses, is informed by influences of his earlier work. The compositional values, treatment of spaces, play of light, colour nuances and transparency, make for a unique style. The work of Bimal Dasgupta is usually characterised by a semi- abstract rendering of formations of inorganic matter. At a subliminal level, these abstractions evoke a sense of how they impact life itself. In Houses, any life form is conspicuously missing, but not so with life itself, which is present through tiny yet tangible signifiers. The nuances of greens, blues and deep purples capture the mosque and the church and human life as if in the quiescence of night, engulfed in the intangible mystery of existence. Thus Dasgupta’s landscapes are ‘innerscapes’ projecting the distilled essence of nature as seen through the inner eye. Dasgupta has an acute colour sense and a mastery over composition. His delineation of tone and texture is highly remarkable. Through skillful and accurate blending of colours, he creates subtle tonal variations and a textural quality that is arresting. Although precision and technical virtuosity are the hallmark of his work, these attributes do not smother it. A luminous, higher aesthetic sensibility shines through. Simple subjects turn into poetic metaphors. Bimal Dasgupta returned to watercolour and acrylic, under medical advice, in the later part of his life due to an allergy to oil pigments thus completing the circle of a long painterly journey that was rich and fulfilling. In this last phase of work, one sees his signature style and many of the earlier pictorial elements besides cacti,mushrooms and boulders. Some of the latitudes of the mind’s eye, like life itself, straddle arid zones besides mysterious depths. – Rpt. in [BKC, 2004]. Manifestations II: Indian Art in the 20th Century. New Delhi: Delhi Art Gallery 2004;pp.83 AN EARLY ABSTRACT PAINTING BY ONE OF INDIA’S POST- INDEPENDENCE PIONEERING MODERNISTS - BIREN DE 50 51 119 Indian Antiquities, Modern & Contemporary Fine Arts