Ganesh Pyne

Acquired at an estate sale, North Virginia, 2024

Ganesh Pyne's grandmother immersed him in the fantastical world of Bengali folklore, narrating moonlight-filled tales of kings, queens, merchants and animals. The artist studied at the Government College of Art and Craft, an institution closely associated with the Bengal School of Art, and graduated in 1959. In 1963, Pyne joined the Society for Contemporary Artists, a group of local artists which included Bikash Bhattacharjee, Shyamal Datta Ray and Ganesh Haloi. A beneficiary of the Tagores' and Bengal School of Art's legacies, Pyne utilized an Abanindranathesque blur to create his signature dream-like atmosphere, creating 'hallucinatory figures which emerge from shadowy depths to speak of death, decay, and the cycle of life.' (J. Wechsler and U. Gaur (eds.), INDIA: Contemporary Art from Northeastern Private Collections, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, New Jersey, p. 17)

In the early to mid-60s, Pyne primarily worked with watercolor, gouache and ink. Towards the end of the decade, he began experimenting with tempera, preparing his own powder pigments combined with gum acacia to best suit the humidity of the Indian climate. The artist almost exclusively used this medium from then on as it could adequately capture his imagination. As Pyne evolved his medium, so too did he evolve his style. He played with texture and the illusion of light and darkness in his work, alongside a mythology and symbolism he created, partly inspired by his childhood. Hallucinatory, near-fresco layers of tempera masterfully combine with these stories in Pyne’s work.

‘[Ella Datta] "When I see your paintings I feel I am looking on a dream-like vision closely linked to our Hindu myths. It seems to me that the myths are not merely mechanical devices or a source for your images but that they are deeply rooted in your subconscious.” [Ganesh Pyne] “This observation of yours is very true. In my mind’s eye, I see things my own way. I carry my own world within. And often this world runs parallel to the world of reality in which I live. My inner world is rooted in my childhood. It has been nourished by my childhood associations.”’ (E. Datta, ‘A Painter of His Times’, The Illustrated Weekly of India, 24 June 1984, p. 37)

In the present lot, Pyne illustrates a portrait of a monkey, an oft-depicted subject in his oeuvre, presiding over a white castle gate flanked by two towers. The tales of the artist’s childhood manifested in his art, and this 1970 masterwork appears to allude to Hanuman, the celebrated monkey god of the Ramayana. The Bengali version, written by 14th-century poet Krittibas Ojha, not only carries the legacy of the foundational Sanskrit text but also reflects the society and culture of Bengal. This epic is considered the most popular book in the region and is likely the story Pyne learned. There is a passage specific to the Bengali story known as Mahirabonerpala whereby Hanuman saves Rama, with the permission of Goddess Kali, and flies him on his shoulders to safety before crowning him the King of Patala. It is believed that Kali, pleased with Hanuman’s courageous actions, blesses him to be her gatekeeper. Untitled perhaps shows the monkey god crowned in glory protecting Kali’s gate, his hands placed custodially atop it.

Complex layers of tempera give a certain translucence to the gate and an everchanging depth to the background. This aesthetic continues to appear throughout Pyne’s work, emphasizing the interstitial nature of his paintings. Light and darkness also provide an element of mystery, as the figure is outlined in shadow and light seems to reflect from its eyes and crown. The crosshatch technique decorates the figure in a level of detail merited by the brave and illustrious monkey god. Untitled is a masterpiece by the artist where his medium and dream-like environments live in harmony with the memories of his upbringing and Bengali culture.