Important Notice

Jamini Roy's works are venerated for his significant style that was developed through accentuating the linear expression of Indian folk art. His artistic journey began at the age of 16 when his father sent him to the Government School of Art in Calcutta in 1906. This led to Roy initially producing works that adhered to his training in the British Academic style of painting - works that showed the influence of Vincent Van Gogh and other... Jamini Roy's works are venerated for his significant style that was developed through accentuating the linear expression of Indian folk art. His artistic journey began at the age of 16 when his father sent him to the Government School of Art in Calcutta in 1906. This led to Roy initially producing works that adhered to his training in the British Academic style of painting - works that showed the influence of Vincent Van Gogh and other Impressionist and post-Impressionist painters. However, he soon became disillusioned with this style and began seeking new sources of artistic inspiration that were ultimately inspired by folk imagination. "Jamini Roy never had to pursue Gauguin's far-away search for equivalence and symbolism, nor was it necessary for him to study the paintings of Matisse in order to develop an 'integral vision'. For he was going back to the cohesive and comprehensive culture of his inheritance accepting its myths and legends, basic forms and primary colors as a birthright." (Dr Mulk Raj Anand, "Jamini Roy," The Art of Jamini Roy, Calcutta: Jamini Roy Birth Centenary Celebration Committee, 1987, p. 45)

Roy was born in Beliatore in the Bankura district of West Bengal, a village with a strong sense of ritual and social consciousness. He grew up in the company of artisans whose work in making things for daily use proved to be pivotal in informing Roy's experimentation in primary form and colour. "It was these simple village craftsmen - the potters, weavers and carpenters who made the Puja images, the dolls and toys, and who painted on the scrolls and pats - it was they who aroused in Jamini Roy his first interest in form and design. Watching these people at work, he grew up in free intimacy with them; and copying their motives and patterns, he used them as children do in play." (The Art of Jamini Roy, p. 26)

Women feature as a recurring theme in Roy's works, delineated with bold outlines and lyrical brushstrokes. Lots 2 and 4 are characteristic depictions of the female exuding his modernist vision of folk art. "Jamini Roy's images of Bengali women, at once voluptuous and demure, displaying the alta-painted hands and feet of domestic duty, have become perhaps the most iconic of Roys." (Sona Datta, Urban Patua: The Art of Jamini Roy, Mumbai: Marg Publications, 2010, p. 26) While the almond-shaped eyes, flat bright colours, frontal poses emphasise the iconic nature of his images, a sense of volume is meticulously created by placing a different coloured line inside the outline, as seen in these works.

Roy also experimented with material, medium and imagery along with his experiments in visual language. While he is most known for his work with tempera made from local pigments, binder, and water, Roy also worked with gouache, ink, watercolour, and oil. He even worked on a range of surfaces including canvas, mats, and other materials that added a textural quality to his art. "In this vein he designed ashtrays, urns, vases and utensils in clay without using the wheel, sundried them and then added colour and put in floral and geometric embellishments in different flat hues." (Sandip Sarkar, Jamini Roy: His Life in Art, Kolkata: Golden Circle Publications, 2013, p. 230) This is particularly noted in lot 1 - a rare terracotta work painted by Roy. It is an exceptional example that highlights the "simplicity of the expression and the solidity of the form" that are a characteristic of Roy's creations. (Sarkar, p. 232)

In addition, he aimed to create an art of collective identity, ensuring his subject matter also included Hindu mythological characters, stylised animals, Santhal men and women at work, and even the life of Christ. His genius is remembered for synthesising his academic training and inspiration from folk art, ultimately giving modern Indian art a new direction. "Jamini Roy signifies not just the advent of modern Indian art but the modern Indian artist." (Datta, p. 91)

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