Important Notice

"In the Indian art scenario from the 1960s onwards, the name Bikash Bhattacharjee stands for a vast body of work marked by three unmistakable features-vivid, almost photographic realism, human figure as the central motif and a strong-veined content." (Manasij Majumder, "Think of the Subject First", Close to Events: Works of Bikash Bhattacharjee, New Delhi: Niyogi Offset Pvt. Ltd., 2007, p. 96) In the present lot, Bikash subverts the... "In the Indian art scenario from the 1960s onwards, the name Bikash Bhattacharjee stands for a vast body of work marked by three unmistakable features-vivid, almost photographic realism, human figure as the central motif and a strong-veined content." (Manasij Majumder, "Think of the Subject First", Close to Events: Works of Bikash Bhattacharjee, New Delhi: Niyogi Offset Pvt. Ltd., 2007, p. 96) In the present lot, Bikash subverts the central motif by showing a monkey head suspended from a string. Such works reflected "his private perceptions of the realities of life, which in the '60s were marked by bitter irony, strident protest and resentment." (Majumder, p. 118)

Bhattacharjee follows a unique painting process. "I try to achieve volume in my paintings by a process that I think is not too common in this country. Most of the Indian artists who use oil as their medium lay on their colours direct... I prefer to lay on dark colours first and then build up the lights and highlights. This process has helped me to give dimension to my pictures, to say what I want to, and also to give the canvas the textures and the character that I desire." (The artist in an interview with Arany Banerjee, "Bikash Bhattacharjee", Lalit Kala Contemporary 15, New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi, 1973, p. 18)

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