Manjit Bawa
(1941 - 2008)
Untitled
"Connoisseurs of art have spoken about the folk and tribal background of my work, the courageous display of colours in my paintings has been commented on, and the incorporeal aspect of my imagery has been dissected. I would like to believe that behind all this, a creative warrior's spirit must have been at work... I am the one who has fought his own battles." - MANJIT BAWA Manjit Bawa's art is unlike that of any of his...
"Connoisseurs of art have spoken about the folk and tribal background of my work, the courageous display of colours in my paintings has been commented on, and the incorporeal aspect of my imagery has been dissected. I would like to believe that behind all this, a creative warrior's spirit must have been at work... I am the one who has fought his own battles." - MANJIT BAWA Manjit Bawa's art is unlike that of any of his post-Independence contemporaries. Born in Dhuri, Punjab, in 1941, he trained with B C Sanyal, Dhanraj Bhagat and Somnath Hore at the College of Art in New Delhi and later in London. Deceptively simple and striking, his work draws from a range of literary and visual traditions. The imagery in his paintings is informed by his familiarity with a wide range of religious texts and literature, including Sufi poetry and literature, as well as the history and tales of bravery from the Sikh tradition. His canvasses offer up allegory based on scriptures as well as folklore with equal ease. Rajput and Pahari miniatures play a role in his choice of colour and composition, and the smooth, uniform colours are a result of his training in silkscreen printmaking, which he studied in London in the late 1960s. Bawa visited specific mythological themes throughout his career. The present lot, an ochre canvas of epic proportions, consists of a prowling lion, and a supine blue-skinned ascetic. As with most of Bawa's oeuvre, there can be multiple readings of this seemingly simple figurative composition. Bawa was well-acquainted with the stories that abound in religious scriptures. It is possible that the feline creature is inspired by a verse from the Bhagavad Gita in which Krishna refers to his many manifestations, one of which is a lion: "Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlada, among subduers I am time, among beasts I am the lion , and among birds I am Garuda" The lion and supine figure might also be a reference to Kali, who has been a source of inspiration to artists through the ages, including Tyeb Mehta (lot 33). According to the narrative, Kali is consumed by rage after vanquishing demons, and is about to destroy the universe. Shiva attempts to assuage her by throwing himself beneath her feet. She is eventually overcome by remorse, and calms down. The tiger is the vahana or vehicle of Kali. Bawa was known for paring down figures to their essence and through this rendition of a tiger or lion like creature and a blue human with conical locks, he evokes not just powerful mythologies but also the complex binaries of dominance and submission, and of rage and pacification. At another level, the present lot highlights Bawa's preoccupation with how "...humans and animals engage in a wordless dialogue that throws its participants back onto an older, nearly forgotten language of instinct and intuition. Standing before these paintings, we realize that Bawa has long been preoccupied with the theme of a universal language of communication. How, he appears to ask, do humans and animals account for one another's presence, share their responses?" (Ranjit Hoskote, Manjit Bawa: Modern Miniatures, Recent Paintings , New York: Bose Pacia, 2000) The lion and the man in the present lot, similarly exist in a world that is whole and complete within the boundaries of the ochre canvas which contains them. The present lot, with its nod to the traditional arts is infused by the deep spirituality with which Bawa approached the world. His paintings are unique not only because of his ability to create figures who seem just beyond the pale of definition, but because they are imbued with a sense of humanity which binds all living creatures.
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Lot
84
of
150
SUMMER ONLINE AUCTION
13-14 JUNE 2018
Estimate
$500,000 - 700,000
Rs 3,30,00,000 - 4,62,00,000
Winning Bid
$510,000
Rs 3,36,60,000
(Inclusive of Buyer's Premium)
USD payment only.
Why?
ARTWORK DETAILS
Manjit Bawa
Untitled
2005
Oil on canvas
69.5 x 86 in (176.5 x 218.4 cm)
PROVENANCE: Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai Saffronart, 9-10 December 2009, lot 62 Property from an Important Corporate Collection, UK
Category: Painting
Style: Figurative
ARTWORK SIZE:
Height of Figure: 6'