Jamini Prakash Gangooly

Osian's Mumbai, 23 - 24 February 2001, lot 35

A relative of the Jorasanko family of Abanindranath and Gagendranath Tagore, Jamini Prakash Gangooly (1876-1953) was introduced to painting from a young age. He was taught under British painter Charles Palmer and combined European naturalistic methods with the imagery of his home in Bengal. Renowned for both portraiture and landscape, Gangooly was a prominent painter in the first half of the twentieth century, known at home and abroad, and the winner of numerous awards and felicitations. His work shows a profound appreciation of light and shade, a preoccupation satisfied in one of his favored subjects, sunrise and sunset. The current lot likewise showcases the artist’s adept use of chiaroscuro, yet here through the flaming scene of a vivid nightmare. The blazing hues, intensely dark ground and looming demon, recalling the wrathful guardian deities of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, demonstrate a profound theatricality not often seen in Gangooly’s tranquil landscapes and tender portraits.