Some Famous Paintings of the Modern Indian Art

Devi:

• Made by  Jyoti Bhatt in 1970, this painting is an etching on paper.
• In this image, Jyoti Bhatt recontextualised and re-cast the pictorial image of Devi with a linear drawing of folk motifs, women, and patterns. 

• The image of Devi was placed at the centre as an iconic image. 
• The Tantric philosophy is briefly explained in the portrait of Devi by the two-dimensionality of words and motifs, evoking the power of self-involution and self-evolution, facing reality as the static principle of Shakti. 
• Apart from Devi, Bhatt’s popular artworks include; Self-Portrait, Kalpvruksha, Forgotten Monuments, Still Life, Sita’s Parrot, Tirthankara, Image under the Warm Sky, etc.

Of Walls:

• Made in 1982 by Anupam Sud, this image is made from a zinc plate and printed on paper. 
• The idea behind this image was to draw the everyday life of India.
• The painting shows a lonely woman sitting ideally before a dilapidated wall. The missing face reflects sadness and brooding. 
• On the other hand, the woman’s head is placed downwards where there’s a glimpse of an old man sleeping on the ground.

Rural South Indian Man Woman:

• Made by Laxma Goud in 2017, this painting is an etching on plain paper.
• Here, Laxma has tried to blur the sharp demarcation, thus giving it a linguistic touch. This has helped him straddle various mediums including terracotta, glass painting, and bronze. 
• In this image, both men and women are placed near the trees in the background. 
• They are shown discussing issues and the sadness reflects from the illustration. 
• Here, the print is coloured and line-based. The realistic ingredient present in the image adds a sense of belongingness. The highly contoured shape pops up the facial expressions of villagers.
• Other artworks of Laxma Goud are: Man, Woman, Untitled, Landscape of Turkey, Xiyan China, etc.

Triumph of Labour:

• Made by Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury, Triumph of Labour is a large-scale open-air sculpture made in bronze. 
• On the eve of the Republic Day in 1959, this scene was installed at Marina Beach, Chennai.
• The images include four men continuously trying to move a rock from one place to another. The image renders the importance of working together and reflects the true dedication and contribution of labour in the national building process. 
• Men are wrestling with nature, indeterminately, doggedly, and powerfully. 
• The image showcases a well-known romantic subject of the 19th century. Here human labour works against nature’s elements to complete their task. 
• Debi Prasand smartly portrayed the efforts put behind moving an immovable rock. 

Santhal Family: 

• Made by Ramkinker Baij in 1937, the image is an open-air large-scale sculpture.
• It is made using cement mixed with pebbles and metal armature and placed at India’s first national art school, Kala Bhavana, Shantiniketan. 
• The portrait showcases a scene where a Santhal man is carrying his children in a double basket, his wife and dog walking alongside. It showcases the feelings of a family migrating from one place to another while leaving their home.
• He gives it a monumental status. Since the sculpture is designed in a round shape, it can be witnessed from all angles clearly. 
• This sculpture of the Santhal family is regarded as India’s first public modernist sculpture.

Cries Unheard:

• Created by Amarnath Sahgal, this is a bronze sculpture developed in 1958. 
• Amarnath uses the abstraction where all three figures stick with each other and are shown in flat rhythmical planes. Looking at the sculpture, it can be easily understood that this is an image of a family including husband, wife and child. 
• They are shown with arms above each other and crying out for help. 
• Mulk Raj Anand, a well-renowned Socialist poet wrote about this sculpture, which is now a part of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

Ganesh:

• Made by P. V. Janakiram in 1970, this is an oxidised copper sculpture which is now a part of the NGMA collection, Delhi.
• P. V. Janakiram has used copper sheets to develop a pictorial sculpture in a standing form and ornamented its surface. 
• These sheets are beaten into concave planes on which the liner details are welded. These elements emphasise the facial features and  invite intimate contemplation. 
• Janakiram is highly influenced by the temple sculptures of South India. 
• If looked closely, here Lord Ganesha is playing a musical instrument called vina. The artist has also tried to experiment with the ‘open-endedness’ quality of workmanship.
• Through lyrical stylisation, growth and rhythm and growth are well-incorporated.
• The sculpture is an amalgamation of traditional and folk craftsmanship.

Vanshri:

• In 1994, Mrinalini Mukherjee created the world-famous artwork called Vanshri. 
• This was entitled Vanshri or ‘Goddess of the Woods’
• To build the sculpture, Mrinalini used an unusual material.
• She uses hemp-fibre  
• She used jute fibres and weaved a complex shape out of it 
• The sculpture seemed to be the result of experience in handling materials. 
• Due to the boldness and originality in her imagination, her art pieces attracted massive attention in recent years. 
• In this work, Mrinalini used ordinary material and turned it into a monumental form.
• The sculpture features a face, protruding lips, and a significant presence of natural divinity.

Conclusion

India is known over the globe for its culture, and the most significant component of it is the art that is intertwined with it, and the nation is home to some amazing painters that brilliantly depict India’s culture.