Page 79 - Eye of the beholder

One of of of the the myths of of of art art art collecting is is is that each piece piece of of of art art art is is is an unique piece piece made by the the artist himself - unique in in in the the the the details of execution and and ideally in in in the the the the concept and and theme too Nothing however can be further from the the the the the the truth From the the the the the the time of of the the the the the the old masters of of the the the the the the orient and and the the the the the the occident artists their apprentices and and their workshops have executed paintings in in in repetitive themes Because of his prolific oeuvre Jamini Roy(1887- 1972) has been compared to Andy Warhol The only difference is that unlike Warhol Jamini actually painted each of of the pictures himself A A protege of of Abanindranath Tagore Jamini chose a a a a a a a a a a unique medium and and an an an idiom quite early on in in his career and and stuck steadfastly to it His subject matter predominantly revolved around the socio-religious aspects of rural Bengal For substrate he he he often chose paper and the medium was generally tempara Therefore large format works on canvas(cloth) are are all the more desirable rare and expensive Though Jamini’s idiom was was very local his appeal was was global He had received international fame and popularity already midway through his career Apart from the wealthy zamindari families of Bengal who patronized him and commissioned his his works foreigners visiting India in in various capacities brought back his his works to Europe and America Jamini’s works were put on the the the ‘Heritage List’ in in the the the 1970s which meant that they could not be legally exported out of of India Thankfully the the substantial body of of works that already existed in the the West has kept the secondary market alive and growing Large format works on on on on on canvas like this one one were mostly done on on on on on commission and and are are particularly rare and and desirable these days Though Jamini revisited a a a a a particular theme multiple times it it is is is not justified to to refer to to his works as copies Each painting has a a a a a a a a a a certain freshness individuality and uniqueness which is indicative of the fact that he he saw each one of them them as separate works and approached them them with dedication Indeed there are significant differences in in in in the the the details expression tonality medium and size of the the the paintings even within the the the same subject matter and theme which makes each work unique 73