Important Notice

Born in Indore in 1910, N S Bendre received his initial training in art from the Holkar College, Agra University, and a diploma from Indore School of Art under the guidance of D D Deolalikar. He also attended the State School of Art which had at that time just been established in 1929, where his “training was entirely through their observation of nature, never through books... They began with pastel and gradually learnt to handle water colour,... Born in Indore in 1910, N S Bendre received his initial training in art from the Holkar College, Agra University, and a diploma from Indore School of Art under the guidance of D D Deolalikar. He also attended the State School of Art which had at that time just been established in 1929, where his “training was entirely through their observation of nature, never through books... They began with pastel and gradually learnt to handle water colour, gouache, and finally oil colour. They were taught to observe the behaviour of light at different hours of the day and night and were made to work even in the light of the hurricane patterns they carried. This was their introduction to an impressionistic palette that almost discarded black. They also became conscious of the fact that line did not exist in nature-it was an invention of the artist for the purpose of delineating form.” (Ram Chatterji, Bendre: The Painter and the Person, Mumbai: The Bendre Foundation for Art and Culture & Indus Corporation, 1990, p. 8) These formative teachings were to impact a great deal on Bendre’s artistic career.

Bendre excelled in the style of academic realism - his graduation from Holkar College in 1933 was followed by his success at the Annual Exhibition of the Bombay Art Society during which he won the Silver Medal for his painting Vagabond, after which he continued to be a steady winner of medals. In 1934, he was awarded a diploma in art at Sir J J School of Art, Bombay. Thereafter, Bendre also travelled across the country and moved base to Bombay in 1939 after a three-year sojourn in Kashmir. Then, in 1947 Bendre visited the United States and held one of his earliest solo exhibitions at Windermere Gallery, New York in January 1948. On his way back to India he journeyed to Europe, which lasted for 10 months beginning with London, where he isited national museums and galleries and saw first-hand the works of masters such as Turner and Constable.

“The voyage had given Bendre enough time to take stock of his experiences of the last ten months. He tried to assess their impact on his outlook. His firsthand acquaintance with the art world of the West had undoubtedly made a strong impression... He felt convinced representation was not the ultimate goal for an artist. Emphasis had to be laid on ultrasensorial factors. To achieve this, it was essential to arrive at an integration of all forms, an interrelation of chosen elements.” (Chatterji, p. 41)

After being exposed to and witnessing the contemporary Western art movements, Bendre was stirred to adopt a new idiom, one that broke away from his existing way of practice. He experimented with a variety of styles ranging from Expressionism to Pointillism through the years. Apart from being remembered most for his pointillist style, Bendre was an exceptional landscapist with an inimitable sense of composition and colour.

Late paintings of N S Bendre mark a pivotal shift in his style departing from the pointillist technique that was characteristic of his earlier landscapes. The present lot, painted in 1986, six years prior to Bendre’s death, shows his remarkable ability to paint en plein air. In an attempt to replicate a sensorial experience, Bendre employs the scientific understanding of light and shadow. He utilises large patches of shaded colour omitting any harsh outlines, to differentiate one plane from another, reminiscent of his learnings at the State School of Art. What occurs as a result is an austere or bucolic landscape documenting ruins from the past, the stillness of the sky reflected in the stillness of the water.

According to art critic Ram Chatterji, who has followed Bendre’s career since 1936, this transition in style can be attributed to the artist’s philosophy on the relationship of art and scientific knowledge. He notes that Bendre was a firm proponent of art-making prompted by scientific knowledge, as seen in his use of pointillism that relies on the ability of the eye to blend together colours, but believed that it must be discarded the moment it influenced human sensory impulses. (Bendre: The Painter and the Person, Toronto: The Bendre Foundation for Art and Culture & Indus Corporation, 1990, pp. 59, 60)

Bendre’s intuitive and diligently practised skill set enables the canvas to be interwoven with the right amount of harmony and balance, utilising a very conscious set of colours to achieve the intended effect. The present lot is an exceptional example of Bendre’s belief that paintings should convey a visual experience, and his landscapes were no exception. Speaking of his work he said, “The art of painting begins with visual experience and ends with the conveying of that experience in a concrete form - an art form. It is a pictorial statement. It expresses a visual experience of things beyond and beside you” (“My Painting”, Bendre: The Painter and the Person, Toronto: The Bendre Foundation for Art and Culture & Indus Corporation, 1990, p. 63).

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