Ethereum

BIRD

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PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL COLLECTION Tempera on canvas laid on board 1995 19 7/8 x 18 1/4 in. (50.5 x 46.4 cm.) Signed and dated in Bengali lower right Ganesh Pyne's infatuation with death is believed to date back to the communal riots of 1946, when as a child he came across a pile of dead bodies on a cart. Although he clearly suppressed this traumatic experience, almost thirty years later 'Death' in various guises begins to haunt his paintings. In the 1960s, Pyne abandons his Abanindranath Tagore inspired watercolours in favour of tempera. This change of preferred medium evolves in parallel to a change of palette, as well as a change in his style of figuration. The new visual language comprises a multitude of ghoulish figures frequently emaciated or skeletal in form. Motifs such as boats, bones, birds, doors and windows are recurring elements of his artistic vocabulary. The imagery in his paintings reflects aspects of his subconscious, a quality that evolved during his stint as an animator. Much of Pyne's imagery and symbolism borrows elements from folk stories, mythological episodes, and fairy tales. His signature style includes bold and precise forms, dark layered colour tones, often lifted by a single source of ethereal light. The artist's own experiences of horror, isolation and depression became the catalysts for the imagery that evolves in his works. Dubbed as 'a poet of melancholia' by Ranjit Hoskote, his paintings carry a meticulous narrative quality, which reflect both deeply personal experiences, and yet can be understood at a more universal mythological level. The current work depicting a bird flying to its nest is a fine example of Ganesh Pyne's 'poetic surrealism'. The symbol of the bird itself is multi-layered in Pyne's work and appears in various forms. Frequently skeletal or anthropomorphic, it can be a messenger, an alternate ego, or a symbol of hope in a world of toil. The earliest depictions of these unique winged creatures appear in the late 1960s (Swim, 1969) and continue into the 1970s in works such as The Festival, 1970, The Conversation, 1977, Untitled (Bird), 1978, The Swan, 1977, amongst others. Bearing his characteristic elements of fantasy and dark imagery, the painting tends to underline emotions of abandonment, melancholia and vagrancy. Placing a prominent depiction of a bedraggled bird and a tattered nest against a dark and monotonous background, the artist continues to explore his hallmark trait of metaphoric juxtaposition. Richly laden with symbolism, the bird's flight suggests an element of hope and optimism, a struggle against the odds, which defies its grotesque appearance. The half-cut tree and the empty nest of thorns, toward which the bird flies is, however, suggestive of the sentiment of deprivation and discomfort that was a recurring theme in his work. 'Pyne portrays a melancholy state where annihilation and death are constant bystanders. The palette is subtle and luminous and the compositions show the enigmatic emergence of human figures, animal forms and natural objects in a crepuscular light. One can recognise in this chiaroscuro the contours of a dream, which may only be a way of expressing the angst of modern life... Pyne pursues quietly the essence of reality without resorting to a representation of the physical world, and if the negation of life obsesses him, he also always introduces a countervailing source of illumination to register hope, courage, and mental equilibrium.' (Ella Datta, Ganesh Pyne His Life and Times, Calcutta, 1998, pp. 15-16) # Import duty at 10.3% will be charged on the hammer price and GST will be applicable on the total amount of the hammer price plus the import duty.