Important Notice

Ram Kumar first visited Benares in 1960, with his friend and fellow artist M. F. Husain. Ever since, the artist has remained inspired by the city and its powerful and mysterious landscape. He explains the profound effect that this `holy` or `eternal` city has on him in simple terms: “Why Benares and not someplace else? It was at that point in my life, I happened to visit Benares and it was there before me…Benares` uniqueness lies in its age-old... Ram Kumar first visited Benares in 1960, with his friend and fellow artist M. F. Husain. Ever since, the artist has remained inspired by the city and its powerful and mysterious landscape. He explains the profound effect that this `holy` or `eternal` city has on him in simple terms: “Why Benares and not someplace else? It was at that point in my life, I happened to visit Benares and it was there before me…Benares` uniqueness lies in its age-old associations and the faith of millions. During my several visits to this city, my effort has been to fathom a little of its mysterious depths which I could interpret in my paintings” (as quoted by the artist in, Gagan Gill, ``The Artist at Work``, Ram Kumar: A Journey Within, Vadehra Art Gallery, 1996, p. 191).

The Benares landscape has remained an integral part of Ram Kumar`s oeuvre over the last fifty years. In this canvas from 1996, the indistinct forms of buildings and boats can be made out against the greens of the plains and blues of the river Ganges. Unlike the `eternal` city, however, these houses and temples seem ravaged by age. Just as the boats are almost indistinct from the river, these dwellings and places of worship have started to merge with the flood plains they were built on. It is almost as if the man made is being consumed by the natural, pointing out the transience of the synthetic lives we lead.

The artist Jagdish Swaminathan, however, understands these cityscapes as escapes from the daily grind. He says, “Ram Kumar`s Benares landscapes lift one out of the toil of the moment into the timeless worlds of formless memories. What he paints now is not what the eye sees in the ancient city, it is rather the response of the soul to the visual impacts. In these canvases he resurrects the images which have distilled into the sub-conscious, acquiring an authenticity and incorruptibility not of immediate experience...” (Ibid., p. 73).

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