Though decorative fresco murals & mosaics with still-life themes appeared in antiquity occasionally, it wasn’t until the Renaissance that the genre got an independent identity. The masters back home have dabbled in it, for that matter, even most senior artists as well. It would not be much surprising to follow that some of the contemporaries too tend to doodle it! Though not many of them now perhaps spend hours in their studios on still-lifes. But there were many before them who did so with dedication!
Late FN Souza’s still-life is an interesting case study. The belligerence with which the artist rendered stalks of flowers, mostly, can scarcely be ignored for their angry and stark lines, the impatient usage of impasto, signifying an incredible energy, which breathed life onto canvas & paper. On the other hand, KH Ara’s dreamier, almost idealistic form, turned the basic imagery into a rendition in its purest and simplest form. He painted still-life works for several years. It was a form he invariably came to be identified with! Ara painted it with real passion.
Throwing light on other artists, who one might associate with the subject in recent times, art expert Kishore Singh had made mentioned in one of his essays of the works by Jogen Chowdhury whose few powerful strokes are enough to communicate the idea. The art expert adds:
“The interesting finds are Laxman Pai whose renditions are based on strict outlines that reduce the containers, or fruits and flowers, to an almost geometric rendering. Or take Prokash Karmakar at his voluptuous best, Jyoti Bhatt’s whimsical renderings, R B Bhaskaran’s almost comic distortions, Chittaprosad’s extravagant and Rabin Mondal’s expressive styles so at odds with their image as “serious” artists. There are Gopal Ghose and HA Gade’s modernist renderings, and very early (and rare) works by SH Raza."
Renowned artists from Santiniketan like Rabindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Benode Behari Mukherjee’s are noteworthy in this regard. In essence, still-life works help compare styles of different artists. This is why perhaps many collectors acquire works of still-life, and the best of these do fetch respectable prices.
Late FN Souza’s still-life is an interesting case study. The belligerence with which the artist rendered stalks of flowers, mostly, can scarcely be ignored for their angry and stark lines, the impatient usage of impasto, signifying an incredible energy, which breathed life onto canvas & paper. On the other hand, KH Ara’s dreamier, almost idealistic form, turned the basic imagery into a rendition in its purest and simplest form. He painted still-life works for several years. It was a form he invariably came to be identified with! Ara painted it with real passion.
Throwing light on other artists, who one might associate with the subject in recent times, art expert Kishore Singh had made mentioned in one of his essays of the works by Jogen Chowdhury whose few powerful strokes are enough to communicate the idea. The art expert adds:
“The interesting finds are Laxman Pai whose renditions are based on strict outlines that reduce the containers, or fruits and flowers, to an almost geometric rendering. Or take Prokash Karmakar at his voluptuous best, Jyoti Bhatt’s whimsical renderings, R B Bhaskaran’s almost comic distortions, Chittaprosad’s extravagant and Rabin Mondal’s expressive styles so at odds with their image as “serious” artists. There are Gopal Ghose and HA Gade’s modernist renderings, and very early (and rare) works by SH Raza."
Renowned artists from Santiniketan like Rabindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Benode Behari Mukherjee’s are noteworthy in this regard. In essence, still-life works help compare styles of different artists. This is why perhaps many collectors acquire works of still-life, and the best of these do fetch respectable prices.
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