| Medium | : | Tempera |
|---|---|---|
| Height | : | 17 inch / 43.2 cm |
| Width | : | 10.5 inch / 26.7 cm |
| Dimension | : | W: 26.7 cm × H: 43.2 cm |
A striking Jamini Roy tempera on paper board featuring the iconic Bankura Horse in bold earthy tones, accented with geometric patterns and folk-inspired motifs. With its strong contours and stylized form, this work embodies Roy’s celebrated synthesis of Bengali folk tradition and modernist aesthetics, making it a significant collectible.
Jamini Roy | Untitled | Tempera on Paper Board | 17 x 10.5 inches | Circa
This painting by Jamini Roy depicts the Bankura Horse, one of the most iconic motifs of his oeuvre and Bengali folk culture. Executed in tempera on paper board, the artwork captures the horse in a stylized, geometric form with strong outlines and minimal yet vibrant detailing. The earthy brown tones are enlivened with accents of yellow, white, and red, while the decorative patterns on the body echo the rhythmic symmetry of patachitra traditions. The simplified form, almond-shaped eye, and patterned harness reflect Roy’s deep inspiration from rural terracotta horses of Bankura, which are revered as symbols of offering, devotion, and cultural identity. By distilling the figure into pure, bold shapes, Roy bridges folk craft and modernist sensibility, creating a timeless expression of indigenous art.
One of india’s most loved artists, Jamini Roy is remembered for forging a unique indian aesthetic for modern art by bringing together elements of traditional bengali folk art and kalighat patachitras, rendered in clean lines and earthy colours.
Born on 11 April 1887 in a landowning family in Bankura district of Bengal, Roy trained in European academic-realist painting at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Calcutta, and began his career painting landscapes and portraits.
Soon, moving away from these, he started experimenting with a more indigenous visual vocabulary. Level surfaces, flattening of design in depth, and the use of dissonant primary colours were aspects of folk painting that Roy incorporated in his work. Also, he took up the volumetric forms of the Kalighat patachitras. However, unlike the spontaneous brushwork of the traditional patuas, Roy’s lines were more restrained and precisely delineated.
Roy would paint several versions of a subject, breaking and reforming the theme over months. Turning his family into a production unit, he tried to emulate a craft-guild mode of artistic production. He painted on a wide range of themes—common people, mythological tales, Christian iconography, as well as visual characteristics of home-sewn Bengal quilts and Byzantine icons.
Roy was awarded the Viceroy’s gold medal in 1935, the Padma Bhushan in 1955, and elected a fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi in 1956. Declared a National Treasure artist in 1976, his works cannot be exported. He passed away on 24 April 1972.
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