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Lot Essay
"Roy's striking formalist pictorial language, his simple monumental images of sari-clad women, madonnas, village dances and domestic animals have become iconic [...] In short, for this Bengali formalist, 'true' art did not consist in copying nature, but in offering the essential form in all honesty and without frills." (P. Mitter, The Triumph of Modernism: India's Artists and the Avante-garde 1922-1947, New Delhi 2007, p. 112)
Jamini Roy began his career as a young artist painting portraits and Impressionist style landscapes, but by his late 30s began experimenting with Kalighat and Bengali folk painting. Drawing upon those influences, he eventually conceived the style of painting for which he is best known, a revolutionary reinterpretation of traditional South Asian iconography by way of crisp, clean, modernist lines.
This particular painting is a remarkably vibrant example of Roy's innate ability to ruthlessly strip away the superfluous, rejoicing in the simple, even audacious elegance of his composition. The intense concentration of colour and security of line successfully establish a transcending sense of simplicity, an audacity of expression. The deep, earthy brown of the central figure set against the radiant yellow of the background compliment the subject and narrative of Roy's aesthetic thoroughly. It beseeches the viewer, commanding an attitude that is at once uncomplicated, yet many layered.
Jamini Roy began his career as a young artist painting portraits and Impressionist style landscapes, but by his late 30s began experimenting with Kalighat and Bengali folk painting. Drawing upon those influences, he eventually conceived the style of painting for which he is best known, a revolutionary reinterpretation of traditional South Asian iconography by way of crisp, clean, modernist lines.
This particular painting is a remarkably vibrant example of Roy's innate ability to ruthlessly strip away the superfluous, rejoicing in the simple, even audacious elegance of his composition. The intense concentration of colour and security of line successfully establish a transcending sense of simplicity, an audacity of expression. The deep, earthy brown of the central figure set against the radiant yellow of the background compliment the subject and narrative of Roy's aesthetic thoroughly. It beseeches the viewer, commanding an attitude that is at once uncomplicated, yet many layered.