Bikash Bhattacharjee

Contemporary Indian Paintings from the Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection, Sotheby's New York, 5 December 2000, lot 139

New York, The Grey Art Gallery and Study Center, New York University, Contemporary Indian Art from the Chester and Davida Herwitz Family Collection,  December 1985 - January 1986

Sokolowski, T., Contemporary Indian Art from the Chester and Davida Herwitz Family Collection, Grey Art Gallery, New York, 1985, p. 67 illus.

Minor areas of shrinkage in the cream coloured paint in the upper half of the canvas, and in areas of the woman's saree, her arm and the hospital bed. This painting is In good overall condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Bikash Bhattacharjee is arguably one of India’s finest painters whose mastery of figuration is unparalled in the 20th century. The foundations of his art practice are based on the academic realism that was associated with the Government Art Schools. This was in contrast to his peers who chose to distance themselves from the colonial art tradition. Instead, Bhattacharjee looked to the European masters for inspiration, admiring Vermeer and Rembrandt in their ability to alter the atmosphere of a painting with subtle variations in light and tone. However, he subverts naturalism and reality through his Surrealist, dream-like compositions.

Bhattacharjee was also greatly influenced by the work of American realist painter Andrew Wyeth. "… after my graduation... I [came] across an Andrew Wyeth album and an issue of the Span [magazine]... Christina’s World and other subjects, and even his ambience merged with the subjects, are very familiar to me... and the difference of country, period and characters melted away." (Manasij Majumder, 'Bikash on Bikash', Close to Events: Works of Bikash Bhattacharjee, New Delhi, 2007, pp.182-183). Both Bhattacharjee and Wyeth were committed realists and like Wyeth who painted people and places that were familiar to him, Bhattacharjee focused on the life and culture of his home city of Calcutta, highlighting the daily struggle, corruption and social inequalities within society. He admired Wyeth’s treatment of light and shadow, and his use of windows and empty spaces as compositional and evocative devices.' (Susan Bean, Midnight to the Boom: Painting in India after Independence, London, 2013, p.132).

Girish Shahane in his essay on p. 9 states that 'Visit III might also be read as a kind of goddess, perhaps a modern-day Annapoorna, calm and benevolent within a portrayal of the cycle of life. [...] Mixed signals are apparent in the contrast between her rich, red lips and her severe spectacles and metallic grey sari.' Bhattacharjee often placed his central subject slightly off-centre and gave them a direct gaze that unnerves the viewer. His highly finished technique meant there were minimal visible brushstrokes making many of his paintings appear like photographs or stills from a film. "What you see is a single moment in time... Painting should be like this. It should have a mystery, a story. My passion for narrative and its sudden arrest was formed during the days when I used to watch films at Film Society. The dramatic narrative fascinated me." (Shubhani Sarkar and Rudrani Sarkar, Bikash 2000, CIMA, Calcutta, 2001, cited in Susan Bean, Midnight to the Boom: Painting in India after Independence, London, 2013, p.133).