Important Notice

Krishen Khanna's early paintings of musicians stemmed from his growing interest and engagement with Carnatic music in the 1950s. Khanna had moved with his family to 115 Lloyds Road, Nungambakkam in January 1953, to work for the Chennai branch of Grindlays Bank. His four month-old daughter, Rasika, developed a serious interest in Bharatnatyam. To nurture her interest, Khanna would often invite leading musicians and dancers to their home. These... Krishen Khanna's early paintings of musicians stemmed from his growing interest and engagement with Carnatic music in the 1950s. Khanna had moved with his family to 115 Lloyds Road, Nungambakkam in January 1953, to work for the Chennai branch of Grindlays Bank. His four month-old daughter, Rasika, developed a serious interest in Bharatnatyam. To nurture her interest, Khanna would often invite leading musicians and dancers to their home. These included the eminent mridangam players Palghat Mani Iyer and his protege Palghat Raghu, the flautist Mahalingam, and the violinist T N Krishnan, among others. Khanna also frequented Carnatic concerts with Narayana Menon, then Director of the All India Radio, who was instrumental in introducing Khanna to these luminaries.

Khanna's interest in Carnatic music intensified with his own artistic pursuits. He attempted to capture the lyricism and dexterity of the musicians on his canvases. These paintings "range from rapid gestural experiment to more carefully constructed compositions, in which the rhythm of the work emerges from the vertical-horizontal positioning of the musicians and instruments." (Gayatri Sinha, Krishen Khanna: A Critical Biography, New Delhi: Vadehra Art Gallery, 2001, p. 48) Khanna brought to "the act of painting the dextrous speed of the music. He was intrigued by the informal manner in which a raga began and then entered a formal structure. His attempt was to transform the creation of rhythmic sound in time, into the movement of brush in space." (Sinha, p. 48) The present lot captures the mood of a concert organised at his Lloyds Road residence.

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