Paritosh Sen

When the calcutta Group, an artists’ collective of which Paritosh sen was a founder member, emerged on the Indian visual art scenario, it intended to turn the tide away from the prevailing dominant that was marked, still, by the revivalism of the Bengal school. significantly, in 1953, after a decade of its collective effort, the booklet accompanying their exhibition mentioned: ‘the guiding motto of our Group is best expressed in the slogan “art should be international and inter-dependent”. In other words, our art cannot progress or develop if we always look back to our past glories and cling to our old traditions at all cost. the vast new world of art, rich and infinitely varied, created by Masters the world over in all ages, beckons us’.

It further declared: ‘In the West, kings have long been dethroned and the reins of the state have passed into the hands of the common man. today the artists no longer decorate the baroque palaces of kings or the interior of the chapels but work independently in their studios or decorate the communal buildings. the great french movements in art — Impressionism, cubism, surrealism, etc. — all evolved through this changed ideal in art. such a movement is under way in our country too.’

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While one might justifiably consider this as a retrospective statement, it nevertheless forms an index to the aims and objectives in the group’s collective practice, and highlights the points of reference for its transforming visual language; it is clearly evident that the adoption from a wide range of options between Impressionism and surrealism was viewed as a springboard that could catapult the artists towards the optimism of universal comprehensibility of their personal visual languages, an attempt to ‘bridge the gap’ brought about by colonial experience.

The experience of the collective remained ingrained, even if subliminally, as its members moved on towards their individual.

TIMELINE

The artist is born on October 18 in dacca (now Dhaka, in Bangladesh).

1936–40
Studies at Government school of art and craft, Madras, training under DP Roy Chowdhury.

1940
Moves to calcutta and comes across books on european art and artists such as Monet, cezanne, van Gogh and Gauguin, which are imported to cater to the needs of the soldiers of the allied forces in the city. sen’s work begins to reflect certain changes due to this exposure: an unrestrained palette, bold lines, and an almost pointillist technique.

He joins as art teacher at daly college, Indore.

1943
Forms calcutta Group, the first Indian modernist artist collective that consciously draws on european modernism. fellow artists include Gopal Ghose, prodosh das Gupta, Gobardhan ash, subho tagore, rathin Maitra, and rabin Mondal. the group’s guiding slogan — ‘Man is supreme, there is none above him’ — and inaugural exhibition creates a stir in the art community.

1949
Seeing an advertisement for a passage to Liverpool for £35 via the scindia steam navigation company, sen finds ways to collect enough money for the journey as well as clothes. He visits Michael Brown, the editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India, who commissions the artist to design six covers at rs. 200 each. Arriving in London, he earns money for his final destination — Paris — freelancing for the Indian section of B.B.c., and the occasional sale of his paintings.

1950
Surendra Singh Alirajpur, the second secretary at the Indian embassy in Belgium, also an old student of Indore’s daly college, organises an exhibition of sen’s works in Brussels. He is the first Indian artist to exhibit in Brussels and the show is a sell-out, providing sen with enough money to live in paris for a year

He arrives in paris to study at andre Lhote’s school, académie de la Grande chaumière, École des Beaux-arts (mural painting) and at École du Louvre (history of painting), paris With the help of nirode Majumder, sen, and fellow artist sankho chaudhuri, visit Brancusi in his studio in Montparnasse.

Paritosh Sen is heavily influenced by the styles and works of artists such as Picasso, Matisse, and Brancusi, which is evident in his use of strong, bold lines, mixed palette and overall composition.

1953

He attends the inauguration ceremony of the annual art exhibition, salon de Mai, in Paris, and comes face to face with picasso. the next day sen visits picasso in his apartment-cum-studio at rue Gay Lussac to show the master his works. picasso offers to organise an exhibition for him. However, sen has made up his mind to return to India.

1954
Returns to calcutta. although upset by the poverty around him, he is hopeful when he witnesses groups of rickshawallahs and others singing and dancing after a long day’s work, and thus begins to paint works with everyday life as his theme. Moves to Netarhat near Ranchi to join netarhat Vidyalaya as art teacher. the green, rugged landscape of netarhat and its locals find their way into his compositions.

1956
Returns to calcutta and joins regional Institute of printing technology, Jadavpur, as a layout and design teacher.

Holds an exhibition of his recent works at artistry House (now park Hotel) which draws a lot of critical applause from the art community.

1962
Holds a solo exhibition, based on Indian ragas and raginis, in London.

He is invited by the Government of France to spend a year in paris during which he designs the Bengali typeface, based on Rabindranath Tagore’s handwriting.

In the same year, the West Bengal government commissions a documentary on his work.

Late 1960s
Sen’s works turn darker to reflect his ideological support for the naxalite movement.

1967
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi unveils Paritosh sen’s portrait of Jawaharlal nehru in Hyderabad.

1968
Sen creates a series of new paintings reflecting human anguish and turbulence. the titles of the paintings are revealing enough: The Human Condition, Man Descending Through Space, The Fall, and so on, paints portraits, two of them commemorating the famous singer Ustad Bade Gulam ali Khan. for sen, these works present the perfect amalgamation of his love for Indian music as well as his own strength as an artist. santi p. chowdhury writes, ‘one could stand before the canvases and hear the Ustad sing.

The bold, black lines in his work give way to a burst of overlapping colours such as green, blue, red, yellow, and brown.

1969
Leaves for europe towards the end of the year, with a grant from the french government.

1970–71

Receives a grant from the John D. Rockefeller III fund, allowing him to travel to, and work in, USA. Here, he predominantly paints expressionist canvases inspired by de Kooning.

1971
the Bangladesh war has lateral political and cultural effects on West Bengal. sen is unable to work for a while on his return as he is affected emotionally due to political and social unrest.

Late-1970s
As a response to political turmoil, sen creates a series of works with figures clad in a dhoti with garlands around their necks. Laden with irony and humour, the characters are meant to represent the political bigwigs of the time.

1980s
He begins to focus on figures and faces of men and women across all classes.

1981

Serves as a visiting professor at Maryland Institute of art, Baltimore, and also lectures on contemporary Indian art at various centres and institutes in U.s.a. His exposure to racial riots in America results in his Isabelle series of paintings.

1986
His story, A Tree in My Village, is published by national Institute of design, ahmedabad. the text is designed in sen’s own calligraphy and he also illustrates the folios.

Is appointed commissioner of the Indian section of the Havana Biennale II, cuba.

Is invited to speak on Indian contemporary painting at Loomis chaffee school by allan Lundie Wise Lecture fund, Windsor, U.SA, receives fellowship from Lalit Kala akademi, New Delhi.

A documentary is made on him by doordarshan, calcutta, titled One Day in the Life of a Celebrity.

1989
Government of West Bengal awards him the abanindra puraskar for painting.

1995
Is awarded the West Bengal state Lalit Kala prize for achievement in art.

1996
publishes Abu Symbol, Picasso O Anyanya Tirthe. the book, a tribute to picasso and Brancusi, describes his visit to their studios and his travels and life in paris. Publishes his autobiography, Zindabahar.

1998

Is honoured with the Hirachand dugar award.

2002
As recognition of his significant contribution to the arts, the Fench Government confers on him the L’officier de l’orde des arts et des lettres, which is the order of arts and Letters.

2004

Receives Lalit Kala ratna from Lalit Kala akademi, new delhi.

2006
Holds a joint show with Tyeb Mehta at Gallery one, London.

2008

Passes away in october.