Reader’s Digest India – July 2019

Culturescape

GANESH PYNE mas-

tered the interplay of

light and dark on

tempera to create a

disquieting style of

art representative of

the complicated

world he was brought

up in. His first expo-

sure to death was

through the commu-

nal riots that erupted

in Kolkata in 1946—and

his paintings are laden

with symbolism and

motifs, which indicate

that those images never

quite left him.

He was part of the

Bengal School of Art—

a major movement

associated with nation-

alist sentiments and led

by Abanindranath Ta-

gore, whom Pyne cited

as one of his major

influences alongside

Rembrandt, Paul Klee

and Walt Disney.

His eclectic influ-

ences gave rise to a

style that combined

surrealism with an

architectonic quality.

Having grown up on

folktales and mytho-

logy which his grand-

mother narrated to

him, Pyne’s work is

often described as

poetic. Says writer,

biographer, art curator

and collector Ina Puri,

“There are portraits of

man-ape hybrids that

appear frequently in

Pyne’s paintings.

Skilfully created with a

fine web of lines, they

bring to mind circus

clowns and jesters—

their melancholic

expressions making

them appear almost

human. The effect of

the crown of thorns

heightens the pathos

in this picture.”

— BY GAYATHRI SANKAR

The Head

by Ganesh Pyne

Tempera on Canvas

Laid on Board,

19.5 x 16.5 inches,

1977

STUDIO

IMAGE COURTESY: VADEHRA ART GALLERY

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