The apparent simplicity of Jamini Roy’s works makes them vulnerable to the designs of artists who make copies of the marketable masters for the country’s vast fake art market. In the recent past, some exhibitions have been held in Calcutta where the authenticity of what was being touted as JaminiRoy’s paintings was called into question.
Hence the importance of Akar Prakar’s exhibition, Jamini Roy: An Artist of Cultural Authenticity, curated by Debdutta Gupta. It proved that however deceptively simple the protean master’s works may appear to be, the enviable dexterity with which he drew the bold contours of his works — largely inspired by both Western academic tradition and indigenous forms and art — is impossible to replicate. The inflections on these forms that accorded Jamini Roy the position of one of the first modern Indian artists can’t be missed. His command over technique is evident even when he did the barest of drawings with a few strokes of the pen. This exhibition had examples of both his paintings and his drawings that testified to the inimitable nature of Jamini Roy’s art.
Jamini Roy’s journey as an artist is quite fascinating. Having been trained at the Government School of Art, in the early days, he worked under the influence of Western academic art that often veered towards post-Impressionism. This is quite evident from the landscapes and the portraits done in those days. In this exhibition, there was a small gouache landscape with white cottages with bright red roofs, a dappled blue sky, and green and ochre fields. There is also a charming painting of a woman in a sea green dress holding a fan (picture, left). Significantly, the woman has the impossibly large eyes that characterise his works inspired by Kalighat pats.
Akar Prakar’s exhibition demonstrated the masterful adroitness with which he handled both brush and pen, and how, after eliminating all superfluities, he could effortlessly handle any subject — from the Ramayana, Krishna leelas and the life of Jesus to folk toys and the itinerant bauls of Bolpur.
