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Lot Essay
Ramkinkar Baij was born in Bakura in West Bengal in 1910. He studied at Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan, where he was trained by two visiting European sculptors, including Madame Milward, a student of Bourdelle. Also mentored by Rabindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose, Baij soon developed a style truly his own. Deeply inspired by nature, the simple, hardworking Santhal tribal people he lived among, and his own folk background, he evolved a unique aesthetic that is now recognised for its instrumental contribution to Indian art history. Regarded as a pioneer of modern Indian sculpture, Baij was also adept with the brush, and "[...] painted like a poet who saw life in every animate and inanimate thing around him." (R. Siva Kumar, Ramkinkar Baij: A Retrospective, New Delhi, 2012, p. 12)
"While a relentless effort was on for developing an Indian idiom that could relate to its traditional forms, Ram Kinkar sought his own direction without bothering about the past tradition [...] Instead of the wash technique he would use oil colours, dabbing Santhal wraps with packet colours from the local market thinned with linseed oil. He produced large figures with bold, broad strokes at a time when dainty miniatures were the hallmark of good taste. Out of the alienation from the formalism practiced at Santiniketan emerged a very personal style which had so much to offer posterity. Instead of drawing idealized and conceptualized figures, he studied "life" around him, thus introducing a bold and virile realism." (Sankho Chaudhuri, Ramkinker Vaij, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, 1990, p. 5)
This particular painting beautifully embodies Baij's aesthetic sentiment. The robust fertility of the female figure is masterfully depicted; the quick, strong brush strokes add a sense of motion and an almost fluid vibrancy to the compositon. The full, graceful curves of the figures serve to reinforce their innate femininity in this poetically illuminated scene from their simple, rhythmic lives.
"While a relentless effort was on for developing an Indian idiom that could relate to its traditional forms, Ram Kinkar sought his own direction without bothering about the past tradition [...] Instead of the wash technique he would use oil colours, dabbing Santhal wraps with packet colours from the local market thinned with linseed oil. He produced large figures with bold, broad strokes at a time when dainty miniatures were the hallmark of good taste. Out of the alienation from the formalism practiced at Santiniketan emerged a very personal style which had so much to offer posterity. Instead of drawing idealized and conceptualized figures, he studied "life" around him, thus introducing a bold and virile realism." (Sankho Chaudhuri, Ramkinker Vaij, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, 1990, p. 5)
This particular painting beautifully embodies Baij's aesthetic sentiment. The robust fertility of the female figure is masterfully depicted; the quick, strong brush strokes add a sense of motion and an almost fluid vibrancy to the compositon. The full, graceful curves of the figures serve to reinforce their innate femininity in this poetically illuminated scene from their simple, rhythmic lives.