PRODOSH DAS GUPTA | Mother and Child Reclining

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the artist's family and is recorded in the Prodosh Das Gupta family archive as edition 5/9

Irregularities across the surface of the artwork are inherent to the artistic process. There is oxidation and scattered spots of wear and discoloration in the work. Dust accrual in the crevices. This work is in very good overall condition, as viewed.
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Writing about his work in 1973, Prodosh Das Gupta begins with, “I, for example, found sympathy with such western masters as Rodin, Brancusi, Arp, and Henry Moore for the obvious reason of finding in their works the essentials of Indian sculpture manifested in their fluid rhythm, gliding forms, and a sense of swelling from within, particularly in the works of Brancusi, Arp and Henry Moore.” (P. Das Gupta, ‘Indian Conception in Sculpture’, Prodosh Das Gupta: Sculptures & Drawings, Edited by V. K. Jain, Kumar Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2008, p. 14). The multiple artistic movements of the twentieth century, as well as  his observation of the physical world around him both helped to create the sculptor's sophisticated style. Female figures in Das Gupta’s oeuvre more often than not took the role of the mother. In the same vein as his The Mother (1939) and Mother & Child (1949 and 1971), the present lot, Das Gupta’s depiction of a reclining female from 1976, Mother and Child Reclining is a classic example of his mastery of biomorphic form that melds the human form into his sculpted works. 'A form must be defined by an outline, and this outline must necessarily have a rhythm of its own, or remain lifeless. In every case, whether it be his abstract sculptures, or his geometric simplifications of the late 1970s and 80s, his works are governed by a precise rhythm that infuses them with life. Their dynamism, volume and swelling, potent with inner growth, remain hallmarks of Prodosh Das Gupta’s art.' (A. Bhowmick, ‘An Artist of the Indian Renaissance’, Prodosh Das Gupta: Sculptures & Drawings, Edited by V. K. Jain, Kumar Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2008, p. 22). Emerging from this curving sinuous bronze, is an arrestingly beautiful tableau of a reclining, almost Madonna-like female figure resting languidly on its base with exaggerated hips and torso, protectively cradling her infant child, coupling a compassionate study of motherhood with modern execution.