Important Notice

"A picture is what it is: Man creates it. And whatever man creates reflects his character, his daily life, his innermost thoughts, indeed everything." - JAMINI ROY

The search for an original artistic expression led Jamini Roy back to his roots, and he often incorporated elements from traditional art forms such as Kalighat patuas, Bengali scrolls, and objects and paintings from his native Bankura region in West Bengal.... "A picture is what it is: Man creates it. And whatever man creates reflects his character, his daily life, his innermost thoughts, indeed everything." - JAMINI ROY

The search for an original artistic expression led Jamini Roy back to his roots, and he often incorporated elements from traditional art forms such as Kalighat patuas, Bengali scrolls, and objects and paintings from his native Bankura region in West Bengal. However, his formal training at the Government Art School of Calcutta meant that his art acquired a unique aesthetic, distinct from the folk idiom, which stood out in the context of the Indian modern art movement. Roy integrated these traditions to create works that used simple forms and bold, flat colours - restricted to seven earthy, mineral tones. His subjects were taken from local folk tales and mythology, and his paintings frequently featured women, santhals, and rustic life (lots 1, 3 and 4). According to art historian Sona Datta, in keeping with the socio-political context of the times, Roy had a "very deep concern with regeneration and the recovery of "roots"... The search for identity and rootedness became an object and "Back to the village" became a popular slogan in the freedom struggle." (Sona Datta, Urban Patua: The Art of Jamini Roy, Mumbai: Marg Publications, 2010, pp. 33-35)

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