Important Notice

“Man is the centre of my universe along with his emotions, his love, his social intercourse, his surroundings.” - N S BENDRE

Artist, teacher and intellectual, N S Bendre was a towering figure in the world of modern Indian art. Known as “Dada” to the students he taught, Bendre’s influence in and contribution to the art movement and subsequent generations of artists is profound. He introduced new ideas in art education, including an... “Man is the centre of my universe along with his emotions, his love, his social intercourse, his surroundings.” - N S BENDRE

Artist, teacher and intellectual, N S Bendre was a towering figure in the world of modern Indian art. Known as “Dada” to the students he taught, Bendre’s influence in and contribution to the art movement and subsequent generations of artists is profound. He introduced new ideas in art education, including an intellectual informality in disseminating information.

Bendre’s works seem to emerge from the core of India’s rustic scenes. Throughout his artistic career, he closely followed Western art movements, and experimented with a variety of styles ranging from Expressionism to Pointillism in later years. Over decades, he incorporated and adapted these influences into his own style that was rooted in Indian formalism, and in his choice of subject matter -- classically Indian themes such as birds and animals, figures in village settings, and quintessentially Indian landscapes.

According to Bendre, “Indian art is very tolerant. It has accepted a number of influences from outside, digested them and created its own art forms... The respect for the flat area on which to paint, the use of conceptual images understandable to the people at large, based on observation and memory, have been characteristic of Indian art. The colour orchestration that can have its impact on the Indian mind, dedication and devotion to the subject matter including geometrical forms working as magic, the resulting quality of peace of mind and serenity all this is Indian.” (Artist quoted in Ram Chatterji, Bendre: The Painter and the Person, Mumbai: The Bendre Foundation for Art and Culture & Indus Corporation, 1990, p. 63)

In the present lot, two women are depicted engaged in manual labour. Their postures and costumes are in synchrony, not just with one another but also with their natural environment. The women take on a monumental stature owing to the manner in which they are framed in relation to their background, and yet they seem to be one with their surroundings. The controlled colour palette contributes significantly to achieving this effect as well as highlights “his innovative use of colour, his sensitivity to the play of subtle hues in nature, and his ability to transfer them to canvas with unmatched dexterity, whatever the medium.” (Chatterji, p. 1)

With this canvas, Bendre captures a serene moment, one that highlights the interdependency between human beings and their natural surroundings. Bendre’s work often reveal such a tranquil quality. “There is already a lot of misery in this world, I do not want to add to it. I paint because I derive pleasure from painting and I try to give pleasure to others. That is the philosophy of my art.” (Artist quoted in Amrita Jhaveri, A Guide to 101 Modern and Contemporary Indian Artists, Mumbai: India Book House, 2005, p. 19)

The present lot was painted in 1968, just two years after the artist had settled in Bombay in 1966 following his extensive travels through India and Europe. This was also a period that saw women emerging as a focal point in Bendre’s works. “The joys and charms of the female world find expression through the late 60s in paintings of women reading, painting, playing music, braiding each other’s hair or looking after children.” (Jhaveri, p. 18)

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