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Lot 13

 

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Born in 1940, Bikash Bhattacharjee is renowned for the psychologically and physiologically improbable characters that populate his work. With one foot on each side of the line dividing academic realism from surrealism, and the mundane from the macabre and theatrical, the artist reflects his moods and memories through the environs and characters that he brings to life in his works. In the words of the critic, Marcella Sirhandi, Bhattacharjee is... Born in 1940, Bikash Bhattacharjee is renowned for the psychologically and physiologically improbable characters that populate his work. With one foot on each side of the line dividing academic realism from surrealism, and the mundane from the macabre and theatrical, the artist reflects his moods and memories through the environs and characters that he brings to life in his works. In the words of the critic, Marcella Sirhandi, Bhattacharjee is “…a consummate draftsman, whose skill brings to life a vivid imagination deeply rooted in Bengali culture” (India: Contemporary Art from Northeastern Private Collections, J. V. Zimmerli Art Museum exhibition catalogue, 2002, p. 32). His subjects are all average Bengalis, like himself, embodying the superstitions, corruption, religious beliefs, love and violence that the artist experienced growing up and living in the city of Kolkata.

Women, like the lone subject of the present lot, are rendered with a combination of spirituality, sensuality, and intimidation. In awe of their beauty and power, Bhattacharjee paints his women in a haunting light, often connecting their human femininity with divine authority, leaving viewers wondering what secrets they harbour. A master of oils, the artist is attentive to every detail in his portraits, believing that the more authentic the milieu in which he locates his characters, the more heightened will be their drama. In this canvas, a seemingly destitute woman in a sari holding a child stands frozen against a hilly landscape, her eyes downcast. Lit from one side by an eerie light, the woman, perhaps a rural migrant, invites both compassion and apprehension from the viewer.

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