Jehangir Sabavala

Mumbai, Sakshi Gallery, Ricorso, September 2008
London, Aicon Gallery, Ricorso: Jehangir Sabavala, November 2008
New York, Aicon Gallery, Ricorso: Jehangir Sabavala, January-February 2009
New York, Aicon Gallery, Immutable Gaze Pt. 1: Masterpieces of Modern and Pre-Modern Art, March - April 2014
New York, Aicon Gallery, Shifting the Paradigm: Masterworks of Indian Painting Before and After Independence, September - October 2014

R. Hoskote, Ricorso: Jehangir Sabavala: Paintings, 2006-2008, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai and Aicon Gallery, London and New York, 2008, illustration p. 21 

Minor rubbing along the top edge of the canvas is visible only upon close inspection. This work is in overall good condition, as viewed.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Jehangir Sabavala’s Rice fields, Palni Hills – II is a sublime depiction of Southern India’s lush Palni hills, which he encountered among his extensive travels across the country. “One was truly privileged to indulge in pure travel...My brother Sharokh and I spent months in Matheran, the Sahyadris, the Nilgiris and the Palni hills...we spent time talking, trekking and looking, and meeting the local people. We went on magnificent walks into the valleys, tried to make contact with the people and gathered knowledge of the rich flora and fauna” (J. Sabavala in conversation with N. Adajania, ‘Between the Plain and the Precipice: Jehangir Sabavala’s Art of Travel,’ Limited Edition Serigraphs: Jehangir Sabavala - The Complete Collection, The Serigraph Studio, Mumbai, 2008, p. 30).

The landscape has been a constant feature throughout the artist’s career. Though it has been interwoven with other phases that include academic portraiture, still-lifes, and religious compositions, the landscape remains central. “I observe an object or a landscape to which I intuitively respond. I analyse it to find the myriad tones that make up its colour. I may see ten or more shades in the grey-blue or slate jade of the sea on a particular day. I make notes of these nuances – of the time of day the mood, the season - and they enter my paintings in combinations that are unpredictable” (R. Hoskote, Sabavala: Pilgrim, Exile, Sorcerer, Eminence Designs Pvt. Ltd., Bombay, 1998, p. 79).

These words gracefully sum up the essence of the theme of Palni Hills, which Sabavala painted many a times in a myriad of interpretations. In this version, the artist beautifully echoes the structure of the Palni Hills from its lowest to the highest altitude. Sabavala is known to ‘use the architect’s devise of the exploded view and the photographic techniques of the close-up and the aerial view, to re-define, not only his subjects, but also his form’ (Limited Edition Serigraphs: Jehangir Sabavala - The Complete Collection, p. 48). The work escalates in Sabavala’s archetypal parallel layers: the brown deciduous forests in the lower levels transition to the evergreen mountain rain forests of the South Western Ghats; above them, even higher mountains receding into the clouds. The vibrant hues of greens and browns are masterfully combined so that the lush forests and the mountains occupy separate planes and present an ‘exploded view.’

Commenting on Sabavala’s work in the last decade of his life, Hoskote notes, "Sabavala’s art derives its crucial tension from the dialectic between the actual and the idealised... The principal device by which Sabavala transmutes and idealises the forms of nature in his paintings is a crystalline geometry, which dissolves bodies, objects and topographies, and re-constitutes them as prismatic structures" (R. Hoskote, The Crucible of Painting: The Art of Jehangir Sabavala, Eminence Designs Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, 2005, p. 176-77).

What is fascinating here is the variety of surfaces and textures, he is able to achieve. He crafts luminous effects of light, illusion and movement by way of his dexterous rendition of fractured cubist planes and colours which rouse an impressionist freshness. This work is a fine example of Sabavala’s mastery in creating a painterly manifestation that is not only empathetic to the textures of a local ethos but also in harmony with international idioms of art making.