Oil painting of Goddess Jagadhatri | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A curated collection of oil paintings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries is currently on display at the Surendra Paul Art Gallery, offering art lovers a rare glimpse of the mythological paintings of that era.
Mythological Oil Paintings: 19th and early 20th Centuries, the exhibition features 27 works on loan from private collectors across the country. According to Vasundhara Tiwari Bruta, a renowned Indian painter and director of Sangeet Shyamala, where the exhibition is being held, This rare artwork from the earliest days of oil painting in India depicts mythological figures that most people would be familiar with. The exhibits include images of Radha and Krishna, Kalankavajan, Goddess Kali and Lord Rama.
On the banks of the Hooghly River, there were settlements of five European communities or colonies – British, French, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese – from the 17th to the 20th century for training purposes. After being exposed to their artistic knowledge and practice, the original artists learned to use oil colors and paint on canvas instead of small paper miniatures as was the norm then.
From the 19th century when formal art education began in Calcutta, native artists trained in the European style and later, practiced their traditional subjects of gods and goddesses as well as portraits of famous personalities of the time.
All paintings are by anonymous artists as it was not the custom of the period to mention the painter’s name on religious paintings.
“Through this exhibition, one has been able to see and appreciate the art of early oil paintings in India and the historical panorama of the Indian art movement,” says Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya, curator of the exhibition.
“Very few paintings from that period are available without any records. I have curated this exhibition after reading the history of that time and adding my imagination and visualization to it.”
At Surendra Paul Art Gallery till March 12