Badri Narayan

Acquired from Gallery Chemould, Bombay in the 1960s 

There is paint shrinkage and craquelure throughout the work. Scattered rubbing with associated loss at edges seems inherent. Some of the brown parts in the figures appear more saturated in the print catalog.
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Badri Narayan was a self-taught artist who experimented with medium and subject matter throughout his extensive career. This led to a range of works that are rife with rich symbolism. Drawing heavily from aspects of Indian culture, his characters are often borrowed from mythology and inspired by religion. Stylistically, the narratives he weaves and the environments he paints are nuanced and layered, though appearing flattened. Whether implicit or evident, these paintings tell stories. They grant us entry into worlds unknown and rituals unfamiliar. The stylistic traits of Narayan’s works bear traces of medieval woodcuts and are reminiscent of Byzantine portraiture and Pahari miniatures. His works also have aesthetic references to Ajanta murals and draw on characteristics of German Expressionism. The allegorical nature of his paintings is coupled with a surrealist quality; we see talismanic animals and figures brought together through mythological ritual.  His subjects often painted against dark backgrounds, leave no sense of being grounded to place or period and as such they invite us to question and wonder about what is in front of us. Badri effortlessly conflates the literary and the visual. He is the ultimate story teller, conjuring up images and tales that are born from imagination but deeply rooted in the consciousness of society.