Important Notice

In his paintings, Ganesh Pyne, “…pursues quietly the essence of reality without resorting to a representation of the physical world, and if the negation of life obsesses him, he also always introduces a countervailing source of illumination to register hope, courage, mental equilibrium. These are distinctive qualities in the content and treatment of Pyne’s art” (Ella Dutta, Ganesh Pyne: His Life and Times, Centre for International Modern Art,... In his paintings, Ganesh Pyne, “…pursues quietly the essence of reality without resorting to a representation of the physical world, and if the negation of life obsesses him, he also always introduces a countervailing source of illumination to register hope, courage, mental equilibrium. These are distinctive qualities in the content and treatment of Pyne’s art” (Ella Dutta, Ganesh Pyne: His Life and Times, Centre for International Modern Art, Kolkata, 1998, p. 15, 16).

In the present lot, a portrait of a silent monk or sage caught deep in thought, the artist offers a literal portrayal of this ‘source of illumination’ in the candle that lights the path ahead of the subject. Building up the surface through meticulous and delicate patterning and texturing, Pyne also masterfully manipulates light and shadow in this painting to emphasize its theme.

To achieve the particular balances between volume and weightlessness, opacity and transparence that he needed to communicate his almost otherworldly characters and environments, the artist turned to tempera in the 1960s. Reflecting on this choice of medium, Ranjit Hoskote notes, “Neither oil nor watercolour satisfied him: their range of effects was neither sumptuous enough on the one hand, nor ethereal enough on the other, to convey his particular atmospheres…Tempera gave Pyne both crispness of line and a sense of depth, the necessary illusion of volume as well as a sense of idyllic lightness” (Ranjit Hoskote, “Reflections on the Art of Ganesh Pyne”, Ganesh Pyne: A Pilgrim in the Dominion of Shadows, Galerie 88, Mumbai, 2005, p. 13).

Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in: this auction  |  entire site