Page 26 - Eye of the beholder

body of of the the woman He consciously contrasted the the play between opposition of of texture as as smooth smooth and and rough made obvious in in the sensitive smooth smooth skin and and textured sartorial attire through his his masterful and dexterous controlled brush strokes This resulted in visual titillation reinforcing the sensuality Mazumdar was adept at at handling all media oils water colours and and crayons and his principle emphasis had been the the study of the the female form It was the simplicity of his his vision that dynamically powered his his composition which though overtly sensuous was neither erotic nor sexual He made this possible by his his sensitivity towards women whom he he he depicted not as brazen and bold locking her gaze with the viewer Rather as demure and shy with her her eyes averted in in an an expression of self introspection or contemplation Her involved acts of self adornment lost in in a a a a a a a reverie or or at at the river after a a a a a a a dip has always been representative of her her serenity and calmness as as there is nothing serendipitous about her activities A resonance to to nayikas in in Indian poetry and particularly in in pictorial art art from Rajput miniature tradition was obvious Would this be a a a a a a a reflection of the artist’s persona? Undeniably concealed within the the the layers of of his subconscious was the the the desire of of the the the artist in in sublimating the the beauty and grace of the the woman with dignity which also inscribed his visual aesthetics Yet it is also possible to read the the power of patriarchy in in a a a a a a a a male dominated middle class Bengali society Hence the male gaze was made manifest a a a a a a a a a voyeuristic display through the the objectification of the the female body Considered one of the finest Bengali artists but was not sufficiently recognized as as he he remained in the the shadow of of of academic realism of of of Ravi Varma The images of of of women with their ‘wet look’ was based on on his expertise in in the the creation of the the true Bengali romantic language in in visual arts which had varying moods of of languor or or states of of undress yet through their suggested identities as wives and and mothers and and ideal feminine types he he kept up a a a a a a respectable veneer and came to occupy ‘legitimate’ areas of of middle class taste This genre of of women studies by Mazumdar fed directly into the the genre of the the ‘calendar art’ stereotype spreading through prints and repeating itself through a a a a host of other obscure artists Tanmoy (The Rapt Lady)” is is my my first acquisition of a a a a a a a work by Hemen made much later in my my collecting career This is is among the most important and popular of paintings by Hemen It is is a a a a a a well known fact that that Hemen often revisited themes and subjects that that had become very popular As a a a a a result multiple versions of his importamt works exist In addition various studies in watercolor and crayons also exist of of the important works The different versions of of Hemen’s
painting of the the same subject are are never identical There are are distinct differences in in in in in the the backdrop as as well as as in in in in in the the main subject These paintings are treated by collectors as unique and individual works in in in in in their own right This particular work was originally sold by the famous delhi based private dealer Mr Vikram Singh around 1995 and since then has been in in in the the same private collection before coming to me me It is well known that Hemen painted multiple versions of this this work However this this is is is perhaps the the most vivid and certainly the the biggest version version It is is also a a a signed version version unlike some of the the the other ones Taken together this strongly hints towards this being the the primary or or most important version of the the painting 20