| Story Text | [{"record_id":"0","storytext":"Jamini Roy\u2019s significance in Indian modern art is attested by his stature as one of the nine national treasure artists. Born in Beliatore, Bengal in 1887, on Bengali New Year\u2019s Day (typically in the middle of April), the artist\u2019s lifelong experimentation with form and prolific ouevre has left an indelible mark on the cultural consciousness of the people. Beloved both by his contemporaries and present-day connoisseurs of art, Jamini Roy and his art hold a special place in the aesthetic and cultural context of Bengal. Educationist Meenakshi Datta, in an essay that fondly recalls Jamini Roy, writes how on his birthday, artists, poets, dancers, writers, and friends from all over would arrive at his house at Dihi Serampore Lane in Calcutta to celebrate him. \r\n\r\n On the occasion of his 137th birth anniversary, we take a look at what makes a Jamini Roy work iconic and explore aspects of his aesthetics and personality through his art. ","storytextauthor":"Shreeja Sen","initialize":"true"},{"record_id":"1","storytext":"The cat with the prawn is perhaps one of Jamini Roy\u2019s most recognisable subjects, so much so that for many it even supersedes, in terms of familiarity, its origins in the tradition of the Kalighat pat. Many of his most recognisable works are a result of his experimentations with various kinds of patachitra traditions from across Bengal.\r\nBeginning his career as a student in the Government College of Art in Calcutta, Roy trained in the academic style of art. Despite his training and close association with academic style painters, Roy also experimented with Bengal school techniques and concerns. Eventually, he expressed a dissatisfaction with Bengal school\u2019s version of revivalism because he felt that their inspirations, such as Mughal miniatures and the Ajanta cave paintings, were removed from the quotidian life of ordinary Indians. Instead, he sought out traditions of art that he felt more connected to\u2014which is when he began exploring Kalighat pats as a source of inspiration and then went onto working with more rural patachitra styles.","storytextauthor":"","initialize":"true"},{"record_id":"2","storytext":"The most remarkable formal feature of Jamini Roy\u2019s works are perhaps the quality of his lines. Strong yet fluid lines that provide a glimpse of the artist\u2019s extraordinary dexterity are a trademark of most of his popular works. Jamini Roy often employed the use of the double line\u2014a darker outline followed by an under-line in another colour or shade. This is a feature that is also common in patachitra, especially Kalighat pats\u2014a testament to the significant influence of patachitra in the formation of a formal style now almost synonymous with the artist\u2019s name. \r\n\r\nHere the deep black outer line is scaffolded by a line of the same shade as the background, creating an effect of depth even in the flatness of the composition. ","storytextauthor":"","initialize":"true"},{"record_id":"3","storytext":"Jamini Roy not only experimented with the formal aspects of patachitra but also explored the themes and cultural references in them. \r\n\r\nThis cat with a prawn in its mouth is also a figuring that commonly recurs especially in Kalighat pats. Known as the beral tapaswi<\/I> (the ascetic cat), it is a satire on the greed and hypocrisy of the Brahmin class. There exist many different representations of the ascetic cat by Kalighat patuas. Jamini Roy himself has several versions of the figure which differ formally and stylistically. While Kalighat cats are usually portrayed seated in an upright posture, Jamini Roy chooses to paint this cat in a four-legged standing position.","storytextauthor":"","initialize":"true"},{"record_id":"4","storytext":"Motifs and details are crucial in Jamini Roy\u2019s works. He took great care with details, referring to the flourishes and final touches as \u2018sukkho kaaj<\/I>\u2019 or fine detail work. The mark on the cat\u2019s forehead is an interesting detail in terms of theme of the painting. Jamini Roy held a deep interest in Vaishnavite culture, often painting Vaishnav processions and singers. \r\n\r\n Here, we see a Vaishnav symbol in an image which is of a more critical and humorus in nature. The beral tapaswi<\/I> or ascetic cat represents Vaishnavite Brahmins, who are supposedly vegetarians, unable to resist the temptation of greed, even whilst they preach about sin and piety. ","storytextauthor":"","initialize":"true"},{"record_id":"5","storytext":"Another iconic feature of Jamini Roy\u2019s works, which make his paintings instantly recognisable as his, are the eyes. The elongated almond-shaped eyes are also a common feature in patachitras. Jamini Roy\u2019s son and later studio assistant Amiyo Roy was lovingly known as Potol<\/I>, the Bengali name for pointed gourd, to friends and family who believe he was named after his father\u2019s fascination with \u2019potol chera chokh\u2019<\/I>, or eyes resembling halves of the vegetable. The yellow and green combination of the orbs give the eyes an almost hypnotic quality. The eyes jut out from the face, disrupting the swift outline of the cat\u2019s head which creates dimension amidst the flat colours. ","storytextauthor":"","initialize":"true"},{"record_id":"6","storytext":"As mentioned, Jamini Roy\u2019s sweeping lines have a distinctive quality to them. There is a strength and fluidity to them. In somewhat of a contrast, or perhaps balance, the body of the cat is adorned by swift strokes which have a quality of spontaneity to them\u2014an intentional rawness in their trailing edges that reveals the gesture of the brush. ","storytextauthor":"","initialize":"true"},{"record_id":"7","storytext":"Jamini Roy was rather particular about planar distribution and would often sketch out several versions of an image trying out different compositions before settling on one. This attention to distribution of space is amply evident in his more narrative works or works that feature multiple figures. Even in this painting, featuring a single character, the usage of the negative space is purposeful. Small white motifs populate the area around the cat. Such motifs are common to a number of Roy\u2019s works, and amongst them many feature motifs from alpona<\/I>. This cubic spiral motif adds to the playfulness of the image while also creating a sense of dimension in the composition of the space. ","storytextauthor":"","initialize":"true"},{"record_id":"8","storytext":"The colour palette in a significant portion of Jamini Roy\u2019s ouevre is distinguishable. The artist was fond of making his own pigments and for a certain period in his practice only painted with pigments he himself made. Tempera became a favoured medium and his colour palette moved within the seven shades of pigments he would make. Art critic Shahid Suhrawardy wrote about how he would make Indian red from a kind of soil known as geri mati<\/I>, vermilion from a mercury composition known as hingul<\/I>; blue from indigo and greenish stones; white from white clay, and ivory black from burnt coconut shells. As an adhesive he would use a concoction he made from boiling tamarind seeds and keeping the glutinous substance derived from it underwater for a week.","storytextauthor":"","initialize":"true"},{"record_id":"9","storytext":"Jamini Roy had a deep interest in children\u2019s art. Like this cat, he painted a whole menagerie of animals that share an adorable quality to them. He collected toys and dolls, many of which were of animals, not unlike the ones he painted. He also had a large collection of children\u2019s art and himself spoke of their influence on his art. He was fascinated and inspired by the drawings of his sons when they were young. Uttara Bose, the daughter of the poet and Roy\u2019s friend and admirer, Bishnu De, fondly refers to the artist as chhobi jethu<\/I>, conjuncting the Bengali word for image or painting and the title of uncle. As a child she was an informal student of his and recalls his attention to and appreciation of the art she created. \r\n\r\n ","storytextauthor":"","initialize":"true"},{"record_id":"10","storytext":"Jamini Roy\u2019s bright red signature at the bottom of his works is not an omnipresent feature. Even without his signature, his style and visual vocabulary is quite unmistakable. In some of his early works, especially works painted in an impressionistic style","storytextauthor":"","initialize":"true"}] |
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| Art Artist Names Single | Jamini Roy |
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