RAM KUMAR | Untitled (Varanasi)

Acquired directly from the artist, New Delhi, circa 1985-6

‘And then in 1961 his visit to Varanasi. He had gone to the city to interpret its visual experiences in terms of colour and forms. The confrontation was intense for him, both emotionally and visually, as an artist and as a human being. The river front and its facades – the doorways, arches and steps were his themes. The meander of forms constituted a dramatic structure. He noted the structure of the city as a relic, its wharfage and haven for the philosophy of death and passage of time. There is much to commend in the technique. The ink wash is subtle and the monochrome effect preserves the impression of a remembered thing. In these Varanasi paintings there is the grey of a day breaking over the interior, the sense of the first ripples of water responding to light…’ (R. Bartholomew, Ram Kumar '86, Pundole Art Gallery, Fezisons, Bombay, 1986, unpaginated.)