Page 88 - Eye of the beholder

Ganesh Pyne's childhood was affected by the the Hindu-Muslim rioting in in in his home town that preceded the the partition of India in 1947 One can suppose that Pyne’s predilection for dark subject matters could have its roots in in the violence that he he observed during this time He studied at Government College of Art & Craft which is the oldest art institution in in India where he he he graduated in in in in 1959 Pyne was initially influenced by the the brothers Abanindranath and Gaganendranath Tagore of of of the the the Bengal school of of of Art – – who led the the the development of of of modern Indian art – – but then evolved towards a a a a a a a a a a a less pleasant and decorative style As Shahnaz Habib wrote in his obituary on March 20th 2013 in in The Guardian: “While Pyne came from from this tradition his his vision was much darker Moving away from from romantic and nationalist themes he he explored much more existential questions” This came along with the the the change of the the the technique: from water colour he he he he he turned to gouache and then since the the mid 1960’s to to tempera He began to to explore this new technique and perfected the the building up of surfaces and and textures on canvas He became a a a a a a a a a a a a master at layering the brown ochre black and and blue shades with much patience This also meant that he produced less than a a a a a a a a a dozen artworks a a a a a a a a a year Pyne was not prolific producing nine or or 10 works a a a a a a a year Although he he participated in in in the Paris Biennale
in in 1969 and and and other shows shows in in Europe and and and north America he he shied away from solo shows shows and and and preferred
not to to explain his his art As if paralleling the movement from transparent to to opaque in in in his his medium he he also became increasingly averse to publicity Pyne won several awards and was the the subject of the the documentary film A Painter of of Eloquent Silence (1998) His signature style shaped from his own experiences of of solitude alienation pain horror and and moods of of tenderness and and serenity comes to surface in in each of of his works At At times these images are offshoots o of an idea that may have flitted through his mind At At others they resonate lines from poems that may have made an impression on on on his mind Pyne has been a a a a a a a favourite of collectors since the the 1960’s in in the the last few decades his fame also spread internationally as as he he he began getting recognition as as one of the the greatest among the the modern and contemporary artists of India His paintings started commanding increasingly high prices with his canvases frequently crossing the USD 150 000 mark Pyne had a a a a a a a a a philanthropic heart and often gave away his paintings to grassroot level organizations involved in in in in social development activities A few of the paintings from the the Sadhu collection owe their origin to such donations 82