Lot 31
  • 31

Jagdish Swaminathan

Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
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Description

  • Jagdish Swaminathan
  • Untitled (Bird, Tree and Mountain)
  • Signed and dated 'J. Swaminathan '79' in English and Devanagari on reverse 
  • Oil on canvas
  • 53.5 x 76.3 cm. (21 x 30 in.)
  • Painted in 1979

Condition

There is minor rubbing along the top centre edge of the work, lower right quadrant and middle left, visible only upon close inspection. This painting could benefit from a light clean but is in good overall condition, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

“In these paintings… he selects images from nature, but dematerializes them by making them metaphorical. He expresses a spiritual sentiment about the unrealized universe, but through the mediating mirror of nature. There are zigzag mountains, delicate, transparent and lofty; symbols of ascent and of eternity. There is usually a tree or a flowering bush at the foot of the mountain or the crest of a hill; a virginal plant in the first flush of spring; a fragile tulsi, a cherry blossom or a gulmohar. The space of the picture radiates light. Although the paintings are conceived in terms of an illumed space, the light is really not that of the sun or moon. It is sheer effulgence creating a colored void. In the way he levitates himself on the wings of the metaphors to an ethereal realm, there is an unmistakable striving for transcendence in these paintings…Swaminathan’s work, in my view, is based on a principle of transcendence derived from the Upanisadic tradition. It can be most satisfactorily appreciated through the categories of the Rasa theory of Indian aesthetics wherein the principle of transcendence is given its aesthetic characterization. …For a painter who quotes the Upanishads frequently, the element of space is fundamental, both pictorially and conceptually, because space is the occasion for cosmic manifestation. And in this respect it is not arbitrary that Swaminathan should have chosen the image of the bird as the recurring motif. The bird belongs to the element of space; it is the winged metaphor to suggest the infinitude of space… Swaminathan’s simple paintings are the most satisfactory. Working as he does with slender resources, he works best on the principle, less is more" (G. Kapur, “J. Swaminathan: Wings of a Metaphor,” Contemporary Indian Artists, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1978, p. 201- 212).