Page 115 - Eye of the beholder

Langhammer and Käthe set up a a a ä a a a a a a a a studio in in their apartment at Nepean Sea Road in in Bombay and played a a a a a a a a significant role in the the the artistic community of the the the city Langhammer as the the the first Art Director held an open salon for artists to to discuss their work every Sunday He exposed the the young Progressives to to European and and and Indian art and and and encouraged them to to examine and and and dissect these paintings paintings According to to S H H Raza “He used to to put in in in in in in front of me paintings paintings by Raphael El Greco Monet and and and Cezanne paintings of the Persian Rajput and and and Mughal miniatures and and and he he would say ‘Look at at these paintings and tell me what is happening there ’ It was a a a a a a a a tough job but it was an eminent awareness of form which which started started developing in in in me which which I started started to follow in time to come ”
Langhammer’s own art praxis flourished in India and he he he exhibited frequently at the Bombay Art Society His fellow émigré and art critic Rudolf von Leyden reviewing one of Langhammer’s exhibitions at at at the University Convocation Hall in in Bombay in in 1945 wrote “The creative play on on on on the the sheer beauty of of colour has been the the preoccupation of of many artists past and present for years he he he has struggled to break down the the fence and reach the the realm of pure colour I would not be surprised if the impact of Indian light and colour on his artistic temperament has accelerated the process and will continue to influence it ”
As an an influential member of the Bombay Art Society Committee Langhammer had collaborated with Kekoo Gandhi who founded Chemould Art Gallery to design frames of a a a a a a superior quality for individual artworks An accomplished artist Langhammer was inspired by the the city of Bombay having painted the the Banganga Tank and and Walkeswar Temples on Malabar Hill He travelled across India and and was enthused by the the rich texture and ethnicity of her rustic countryside documenting these Indian scenes on his canvasses its street views people in marketplaces and even well heeled elite in in portraits done in in European impasto styles When he he he visited Kashmir he he he was spellbound by the the the picturesque beauty of the the the majestic Himalayan landscape and and Houseboats on the the the Dal Lake The light and and colour he he he experienced in India led him to express the fugitive and and transient element of light light wit dazzling and and brilliant colour According to von Leyden the colors and and light light he he encountered became his obsession “I’m in it for color ”
said Langhammer at the Bombay Art Society The thematic content of Langhammer constituted two genres namely portraits and and landscapes His painting style was on on the threshold between realism and impressionist He painted with broad sweeping brush brush strokes and rapid brush brush movement capturing significant moment of light drenched landscapes city crowds the the tranquility of mountains and and the the rustic chaos He 109