Important Notice

K. Krishna Hebbar’s artistic idiom had evolved through periods of flux. Born in 1912 in Kattingeri in Karnataka, he was brought up in an environment of constant celebration; dance, music, theatre and festivities helped sculpt his artistic inclinations. Similar to many of his contemporaries in the 1930s, Hebbar felt a need to seek inspiration from India’s heritage, rather than the western academic discipline the J.J. School of Arts had inculcated... K. Krishna Hebbar’s artistic idiom had evolved through periods of flux. Born in 1912 in Kattingeri in Karnataka, he was brought up in an environment of constant celebration; dance, music, theatre and festivities helped sculpt his artistic inclinations. Similar to many of his contemporaries in the 1930s, Hebbar felt a need to seek inspiration from India’s heritage, rather than the western academic discipline the J.J. School of Arts had inculcated in him in the 1930s. His study of Mughal and Jain miniatures, and the paintings at Ajanta and Bagh influenced his adaptation of form and style. Hebbar’s subsequent travels—to South India in 1946, Europe in 1949 on a study tour, to Mexico in 1964, and Himachal Pradesh in 1982—imparted a unique language which he assimilated into his art.

“Deeply interested in the inter-weave of forms and space, he [Hebbar] cannot be called a Cubist. The different modalities of modern painting, however, are touched on and off, without making a creed. [...]His vision spans a personal, intensely natural drama of human joys and sorrows on a normal level.This is the secret of his charm that one can discover richness and variety of evocation where it is least suspected.” (V. R. Ambedkar, “Krishna Hebbar”, Contemporary Series of Indian Art: Hebbar, India: Lalit Kala Akademi, 1960, p.v-vi)

This lot reflects Hebbar’s preoccupation with space and form, and his delving back into the themes and ways of the village folk. The current lot shows an influence of folk art traditions—the deliberate lack of perspective hints at his preference for Indian pictorial representation in art. The two figures are diminished in size compared to the unrealistically gigantic fish in the water. Through their depiction, Hebbar could be paying homage to the livelihood of fishermen from the coastal regions. Each of the elements that compose this image is given structure and meaning through colour; Hebbar often strove to achieve the most out of an economical usage of line.

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