Important Notice

Narayan Sridhar Bendre’s works seem to emerge from the core of India’s rustic scenes. As a modernist, he imbibed European trends at every stage of his artistic career. Initiated into art in 1929 under the guidance of Deolalikar, Bendre underwent formal art training at the State School of Art, Indore. Here he learnt the importance of direct observation, rather than miming through books. Bendre learned to observe the effect of light at different... Narayan Sridhar Bendre’s works seem to emerge from the core of India’s rustic scenes. As a modernist, he imbibed European trends at every stage of his artistic career. Initiated into art in 1929 under the guidance of Deolalikar, Bendre underwent formal art training at the State School of Art, Indore. Here he learnt the importance of direct observation, rather than miming through books. Bendre learned to observe the effect of light at different times of the day—this play of light is rendered very skilfully in most of his works where shapes are formed through an effective employment of colours.

To broaden his perspective and fuel inspiration, Bendre began travelling extensively across India. His trips to Madras, Lahore, Kashmir, Banaras and other cities enriched his artistic vision and perhaps served as a precursor to his stint at Shantiniketan in 1945, where he furthered his techniques under the tutelage of Nandalal Bose. “... Bendre found Nandalal’s aesthetic values of great significance in shaping his own vision.” (Ram Chatterjee, Bendre: The Painter and the Person, The Bendre Foundation for Art and Culture & Indus Corporation, 1990, p34)

Throughout his travels, Bendre captured the poignancy of a moment through his figures and their interaction with their surroundings. The current lot seems to retrace his memories shows two women seated by the river—one whose features are shrouded by her red veil, and the other whose features are rendered in minimalist dabs, staring at the water. The two pots stacked by their side seem to have been forgotten about; the two women are preoccupied with other thoughts. Bendre’s placement of colour divides the canvas in a manner that demands that one’s eyes travel across the canvas to take in the entirety of the scene.

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