Jamini Roy (Indian, 1887-1972) Untitled (Gopini)

Property from the I.R Siddiqi Collection
Jamini Roy (Indian, 1887-1972)
Untitled (Gopini)
signed in Bengali lower right
tempera on canvas, framed
84.10 x 43cm (33 1/8 x 16 15/16in).
Provenance
Property from a private collection, Singapore.
Acquired from the artist in the late 1950s in Calcutta;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Of all the changes that followed World War II in South Asia, perhaps, the most important was in the disruption of the colonial powers. Dominated countries began to regain their identity and fight for independence. India did not remain untouched by this anti-colonial sentiment. These are the circumstances in which the painter Jamini Roy (1887-1974) lived and produced art. This, albeit brief, contextualisation is fundamental to understand and fully appreciate the works of this artist.

Born during the zenith of colonialism in South Asia, Roy came from a land-owner Kayastha family. His first encounter with art happened within this middle-class, art-loving household. Encouraged by his parents, in 1908 Roy obtained a diploma from the Government College of Art. Here he studied the academic style of the West. However, like many of his peers, Roy began his revolt against westernisers and orientalists. Rejecting European modernism seemed to be the perfect means to express the frustration of an entire country, support nationalism and anti-colonialism, and feed the desire to find an authentic Indian identity depleted of western misconceptions, which meant looking to rural India.

Jamini Roy's artistic production falls within this search for authenticity, which he found in rural Bengali, where he observed folk art, admiring its formal simplicity and clarity. Roy began to experiment with the elimination of the detailed elements, and instead added rough lines, reducing his colour palette to primary and basic colours. Roy succeeded in reinterpreting traditional Indian iconography in a modern and crisp style. In 1931, he exhibited his works in Calcutta. Apart from the incredible works he displayed alongside original Bengali folk art, the most revolutionary element of the show was the curatorial choices. Roy decided to transform the exhibition into a Bengali living space. His works, his philosophy and the curatorial choices represented the cornerstone of Indian modernism. Indian rural reality against colonial cities, a collective against the individual, a nation against the occupier. Art was a political act and needed to be a collaborative effort.

The ideological strength behind Roy's paintings contributed to his worldwide popularity. His works were acquired by Peggy Guggenheim, and can now be found in major modern and contemporary art collections globally. The painting offered here is an exquisite example of Roy's style. From a formal perspective, Unitled (Gopini) represents a female dancer standing and wearing traditional clothes from the Bengali region. Her features are clear and simple and remind the viewer of traditional Indian sculptures. Rough and thick darker lines define the outline of the figure. The colours palette is limited to white and different shades of brown and red. The earthly tones and nuances unconsciously draw a connection to the land. The subject matter also stems from tradition. The figure represents Gopis, the legendary milk maids that are enamoured of Krishna, a subject that was typical of miniature paintings from the 17th to 19th century. As we can see from this fantastic example, Roy's pieces are populated by traditional subject matters characterised by a harmonious combination of both modernism and indigenous formal qualities.