Important Notice

“The visual experience of my art is an extension of the colours and forms absorbed in childhood.” – GANESH PYNE

Ganesh Pyne’s immensely atmospheric paintings draw from his childhood, which he spent devouring fairy tales and folklore of “gods and goddesses, kings and heroes and strange ghosts” narrated by his grandmother. (Ella Datta, Ganesh Pyne: His Life and Times, Calcutta: Centre of International Modern Art, 1998, p. 22)... “The visual experience of my art is an extension of the colours and forms absorbed in childhood.” – GANESH PYNE

Ganesh Pyne’s immensely atmospheric paintings draw from his childhood, which he spent devouring fairy tales and folklore of “gods and goddesses, kings and heroes and strange ghosts” narrated by his grandmother. (Ella Datta, Ganesh Pyne: His Life and Times, Calcutta: Centre of International Modern Art, 1998, p. 22) These stories, combined with the unique ambience of his childhood home, had a hold on his inner world well into adulthood.

“The architectural arabesque that was the family home, the strange-looking shadows cast by the listeners on the surrounding walls, the narrow lane itself (named Kaviraj Row) lined with old houses hugging each other created the ambience of his grandmother’s tales. The Pyne house, tucked inside the lane, almost out of sight of the nearby Central Avenue, had a magical aura about it.” (Sovon Som, An Enchanted Space: The Private World of Ganesh Pyne, Kolkata: Centre of International Modern Art, 2005, p. 12) Elements from his childhood home have manifested as the settings of several of his paintings, as can be seen in the dark and mysterious interiors, and shadow-ridden facade depicted in the present lot.

Narayana, the family deity, who “had a strange appearance” is likely to have fuelled Pyne’s imagination as well. The deity’s “iconic visage was a black, solid, rounded stone resting on a wooden torso… The recurrent face of darkness, the black mask and the hidden identity in Pyne’s paintings owe their origin to these iconic symbols.” (Som, p. 12)

Pyne’s visual language was also defined by his experience witnessing the largescale violence and destruction that engulfed his native Kolkata during the communal riots of 1946, and the Partition of India. Additionally, his childhood was punctuated by a series of personal losses, including the deaths of his father and grandmother.

Despite the elements of death and decay that are characteristic of most of his works, there are “elements of contradictions, polarities and satire in almost every work by Pyne.“ (Ella Datta, From The Shadows, New Delhi: Akar Prakar, 2020, online) In the present lot, we see disjointed skeletal figures and the large shadow of a horse looming over a window, from which a lady peers in anticipation. Adorned with jewellery and an embellished saree, she stands in bright contrast to her gloomy surroundings. Even as the shadows seem close to engulfing her, she seems unfazed.

As is notable in several of his paintings, the lady’s presence can be read as a case against fearing the imminent darkness or decay. According to Sovon Som, the window frame is a metaphorical barrier she needs “to break out of.” (Som, p. 18) “The narrative could be read as the Vaishnava Padavali analogy of Radha’s tryst with her lover Krishna whose name also means the Dark Unknown... It is quite natural for Pyne,... to seek such ontological support in the Vaishnava Padavalis that interpreted Radha’s perilous journey of love through impenetrable darkness as the human soul’s quest for the ultimate union with the Supreme Spirit. As a believer, Pyne draws on semi-religious literature, myth and the storehouse of Bengali literature that abounds with questions related to human existence. As an artist, he uses idiomatic icons and images from indigenous sources that relate his art to his roots as well as making the readings easier for his viewers.” (Som, p. 18)

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