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Lot Essay
Born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, in 1867, Mahadev Viswanath Dhurandhar was one of the country’s most renowned academic painters and art teachers. While his allegiance to the colonial government has been questioned, several art historians credit his work with sparking a transformation in the approach to and appreciation of art in India, so that painting was finally regarded as a profession rather than a mere trade.
Between 1890 and 1895, the artist studied under John Griffiths at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Bombay, where he was introduced to the Western academic style. Dhurandhar’s style thus eloquently combines classical Western training with traditional Indian craftsmanship and iconography. In 1896, he was appointed as an instructor at his alma mater, and in 1910 he became one of its headmasters. Later, he became the first Indian Director of the School.
In his work, Dhurandhar maintained a “fine balance between popular commercial art and the academic realism that Ravi Varma was known for. In his own right, as a dutiful teacher in the British-run J.J. School of Art and also as a successful painter, Dhurandhar was to impress the coming three generations of artists. Although his use of the brush was almost ascetic, he had a princely eye for detail. No wonder this Kolhapur-born artist, who retained his indigenous and vernacular values in the same breath as the high English etiquette, refined this very dichotomy when he painted.” (A. Tamhane, Manifestations II, Indian Art in the 20th Century, New Delhi, 2004, p. 91)
In this series of seventeen monochromatic works, the artist’s ‘princely eye for detail’ is evident. In the tradition of Indian artists like Abanindranath Tagore and Asit Kumar Haldar, these painstakingly executed drawings are based on the famous quatrains (rubaiyat) by Eleventh Century Persian poet Omar Khayyam. Among Dhurandhar’s final and most celebrated works, this suite was created for a special edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam published in 1944, the year the artist died. Each of these illustrations illuminates one of Khayyam’s verses, inscribed on its reverse, using cross-hatching to create minute detail and manipulate light and shadow.
In addition to being exhibited in India, Dhurandhar’s works have been shown in several international exhibitions and are part of the royal collection of Buckingham Palace, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Bombay Art Society among other institutions. The artist also served as a court painter for several princely states in the Western Deccan.
During his lifetime Dhurandhar was honored with numerous awards, including medals from the Bombay Art Society in 1892 and 1895, a prize at the Wembley Exhibition in 1923, and the honorary title of Rao Bahadur in 1927. In 2018, a major retrospective of his work, The Romantic Realist, was held at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai.
Between 1890 and 1895, the artist studied under John Griffiths at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Bombay, where he was introduced to the Western academic style. Dhurandhar’s style thus eloquently combines classical Western training with traditional Indian craftsmanship and iconography. In 1896, he was appointed as an instructor at his alma mater, and in 1910 he became one of its headmasters. Later, he became the first Indian Director of the School.
In his work, Dhurandhar maintained a “fine balance between popular commercial art and the academic realism that Ravi Varma was known for. In his own right, as a dutiful teacher in the British-run J.J. School of Art and also as a successful painter, Dhurandhar was to impress the coming three generations of artists. Although his use of the brush was almost ascetic, he had a princely eye for detail. No wonder this Kolhapur-born artist, who retained his indigenous and vernacular values in the same breath as the high English etiquette, refined this very dichotomy when he painted.” (A. Tamhane, Manifestations II, Indian Art in the 20th Century, New Delhi, 2004, p. 91)
In this series of seventeen monochromatic works, the artist’s ‘princely eye for detail’ is evident. In the tradition of Indian artists like Abanindranath Tagore and Asit Kumar Haldar, these painstakingly executed drawings are based on the famous quatrains (rubaiyat) by Eleventh Century Persian poet Omar Khayyam. Among Dhurandhar’s final and most celebrated works, this suite was created for a special edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam published in 1944, the year the artist died. Each of these illustrations illuminates one of Khayyam’s verses, inscribed on its reverse, using cross-hatching to create minute detail and manipulate light and shadow.
In addition to being exhibited in India, Dhurandhar’s works have been shown in several international exhibitions and are part of the royal collection of Buckingham Palace, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Bombay Art Society among other institutions. The artist also served as a court painter for several princely states in the Western Deccan.
During his lifetime Dhurandhar was honored with numerous awards, including medals from the Bombay Art Society in 1892 and 1895, a prize at the Wembley Exhibition in 1923, and the honorary title of Rao Bahadur in 1927. In 2018, a major retrospective of his work, The Romantic Realist, was held at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai.