Benode Behari Mukherjee

Private Collection of Dinkar and Pushpa Kowshik

Gift from the above

Renowned Indian painter, Dinkar Kowshik was the principal of Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, joining in 1967 after the demise of Nandalal Bose, and credited for reshaping the institution. One of his many crowning achievements was the restructuring of the faculty wherein he promoted Benode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinker Baij to the position of Senior Professors. Dinkar Kowshik’s wife, Pushpa, an artist in her own right (and favorite student of Abanindranath Tagore) was very close to Benode Behari Mukherjee. When Mukherjee turned blind after complications of an operation in Delhi, he returned to Santiniketan and was depressed. Pushpa got Mukherjee to start working on his paper cuts; hers was the first hand to help him. He would draw, and she would cut, then she would place the paper cuts on a mount so that he could feel the cutouts with his hands, ask the colors and make the layout. He would visualize the whole thing in his mind and Pushpa would then stick everything with the glue (layee) that she made. Mukherjee gifted this paper cut to her as a gesture of thanks.

Born in 1904 in West Bengal, Benode Behari Mukherjee was a leading Indian modernist artist and teacher at Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan. He worked across a wide range of media including drawing, printmaking, sculptures, paper collages as well as large-scale murals. Mukherjee was born with a severe eye problem, and in 1957, at the age of 53, he turned blind. During this pivotal year, he turned to paper collages that explored the landscapes and flora of India.

‘The total loss of vision… made it impossible for him to paint but did not put an end to his life as a visual artist. Changing the course of his art, almost as soon as he was out of the nursing home he began to do drawings, paper cuts and sculptures, drawing on his vivid memory and on the acute sense of rhythm he had internalized through years of observation and practice. Of his post-blindness work, his paper cut outs are the most visually appealing. He did them using commercially produced papers since he could visualize and juxtapose their standard colors on the strength of his memory. This meant that he worked with a limited range of bright colors, but it was also a practical way to make sure that the persons assisting him understood his instructions well… At a certain level, their coloristic brilliance and work method remind us of Matisse’s cut outs. The works of both artists are a conjunction of drawing and sculpting in color using the edge of the paper to represent both the contour and volume of forms…’ (R. Siva Kumar, ‘Benode Behari Mukherjee: Life, Context, Work,’ Benode Behari Mukherjee: Centenary Retrospective, National Gallery of Modern Art and Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2006, p. 124)

The present lot depicts two figures, perhaps hunters, taking a moment of rest with their legs outstretched. Between them is a brown tree trunk with its branches extended, the canopy consisting of green, blue and yellow cut-outs that shelter them. The green-colored figure holds a thin, black staff, and both wear black eye coverings. Almost the entire composition is covered with colored paper. This level of detail showcases the artist’s mastery of the form and ability to display complex scenes through simple measures.

Several of Mukherjee’s cut-out works are held in the Tate, London Collection and Untitled is a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire one of the artist’s playful and carefully composed collages.