|
|
| May 1, 2000 | ||
METRO TODAY | DAILY NEWS | ASTROLOGY | ARCHIVES | INDIA TODAY | HOME |
|
|
|
| PAINTINGS Face-Off An interesting exhibition in the capital juxtaposes the art of realist painters like Ravi Varma and those of the modernist Bengal School By S.Kalidas
So what makes DAG's opening show any different? Well, to begin with it is what can be called a curated exhibition, and for Delhi's private galleries this is rare. By involving veteran art critic Santo Dutta, Anand -- who was in the garment business till the art bug bit him a few years ago -- has ensured a modicum of serious art-historical interest. Even if there are a few loose ends like an unidentified subject (in J.P. Gangooly's Portrait of a British Viceroy) or the fact that the selection is circumscribed by the limits of Anand's collection. Titled Face Off: 1900-1980s, the exhibition attempts to juxtapose the colonial heritage as evinced in the British academic realism of the likes of Raja Ravi Varma and Hemendranath Mazumdar to the eclectic styles loosely grouped under the "Neo-Bengal school". However, as Dutta rightly points out, there were huge variations in the sensibilities and approaches within the Bengal school: Rabindranath Tagore's brooding expressionistic works, for example, are strikingly unlike that of his nephew Abanindranath's refined, stylistic wash paintings. While the idea to have a curated show may be somewhat novel in Delhi, in this particular case its title Face Off -- tantalising as it is -- needed to be much more convincingly argued than it has been in the nicely brought out catalogue. Ravi Varma died in 1906 and the Bengal School started taking shape under the inspiration and tutelage of E.B. Havell just around that time. Obviously the aesthetics of both the British academic style and the likes of the Tagores and their pupils were as different as chalk from cheese. But was it a conscious face-off? One would have expected Dutta to enlighten us if at all in the first place the two streams ever met face to face and what, if any, was the dialectical discourse between the two. It has been recorded elsewhere that Rabindranath once gave Abanindranath a couple of Varma reproductions to study. The idea to use western realism to depict Indian mythological themes was something that was quite attractive to many seeking to bring in an element of indigenous expression especially as the freedom movement was gaining momentum. Abanindranath with his predilection for Indian themes could not have been blind to Varma's hugely popular oleographs if not his originals in oils. Interestingly, once on a trip to Calcutta Varma is supposed to have gone to see Abanindranath but he was not at home at that time. Then we know that although Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy found Varma's works repugnant, Ramananda Chatterji of the Modern Review wrote a long piece extolling Varma and Abanindranath himself was quite impressed by Varma's achievements. What Varma thought of the Bengal painters is an even more vexing question. But Dutta somehow is not very forthcoming on this aspect. What Dutta is eloquent about is the techniques and materials used by the Bengali masters and the Tagores' acolytes. More interesting are Dutta and Anand's revelation of the lesser-known names of the Bengal School like the communist "social realist" Chittaprosad and the master colourist Gopal Ghose. Chittaprosad's documentation of the Bengal famine and the naval mutiny may be passionate but often become either cartoons or illustrations. Ghose on the other hand, along with Sailoz Mukherjea, was a master of colours in the expressionist mode. Also in the show are a few Benodebehari Mukherjee in his understated, economical Far-Eastern oeuvre and a few works of the Santhal master, Ramkinkar Baij. There are also some works by the ubiquitous Jamini Roy, including one which predates his folksy style acquired from the collection of Russi Mody. Anand claims he has bought up practically everything that Calcutta collectors and families of the artists had to offer. "I plan to have bigger shows of many of these artists individually," he says. So if you are fond of the Bengali brush, you know where to go. |
|
||||
| Top |
 BUSINESS TODAY | INDIA TODAY PLUS | COMPUTERS TODAY Write to us | Subscriptions | Advertise with
us |
Ashish
Anand is the new kid on the block in the capital's art gallery scene.
Suave, smooth he talks loquaciously with a faint accent that you can't
quite place. "I have been so busy collecting old masters' works for
the last four years that this is my first serious showing," he says,
gesturing across his glass-panelled cubicle to the impressive gallery
space spread over three levels. Delhi Art Gallery (DAG) is yet another in
the chic-yet-ethnic Hauz Khas Village which is already chock-a-block with
arty outlets.