Important Notice

Lot 42

Rejecting the bourgeois leanings that he saw in the work of established artists of the Bengal School like Hemendranath Mazumdar, Jogen Chowdhury looked homeward for inspiration. Drawing on household scenes, folklore and the stories and images he grew up with, the artist developed a unique idiom through which he represented everyday life in India, placing a strong regional spotlight on the Bengali men and women he knew so well.

An... Rejecting the bourgeois leanings that he saw in the work of established artists of the Bengal School like Hemendranath Mazumdar, Jogen Chowdhury looked homeward for inspiration. Drawing on household scenes, folklore and the stories and images he grew up with, the artist developed a unique idiom through which he represented everyday life in India, placing a strong regional spotlight on the Bengali men and women he knew so well.

An unusually large piece, this ink and pastel work on paper highlights the complexity of Chowdhury`s creative process – a meticulous building up of characters and objects through minute cross-hatching with a fine-tipped pen and coloring with light pastels. With a flair for the ornamental and an eye for detail, the artist captures an intimate moment passing between this traditionally dressed and postured Bengali man and woman. Explaining the almost-fluid, amoeba-like bodies he paints Chowdhury says, "I had the idea that if I were portraying an Indian man I should be conscious of the fact that we Indians sit in a manner quite different from that of a European. Our bodily forms, movements and looks are very different. I sought to study this difference and bring it to my painting. This was a new point of interest for me as a revelation of the reality of the Indian form" (as quoted in R Siva Kumar, Jogen Chowdhury: Enigmatic Visions, Glenbarra Art Museum, Jihoji Himeji, 2005, p. 90-91).

Gazing eyes interlocked and hands entwined, nothing exists in the worlds of each of the subjects in the present lot save the other. Consequently, Chowdhury forsakes background detailing for an empty black field in this piece, placing the subjects and the relationship they share in sharp focus. "One of the subjects that has repeatedly occurred in my paintings is the man-woman relationship and the various facets of it. I am fascinated with the complexity, the sensitivity and the dramatic element in it. Such relationships embrace a prime area of our lives and I enjoy focusing on these relationships" (as quoted in Ibid., p. 76).

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