Landscape

Ram Kumar’s first visit to Benaras in 1960, along with artist and friend M. F. Husain, is remarkable for several reasons, one of which was his total elimination of figures from the landscapes from then on. This set the tone for his abstract landscapes in the years to follow, of which the work in consideration here is an example. After the elimination of figures came the disruption of structural elements, to be visible only in vestiges, as is the case with this landscape. Thick strokes mark out various natural formations while daubs of pink, white, blue and greenish-brown hint at human presence in this placid landscape.