Page 168 - AstaGuru Masters Legacy April 2024

Lot No. 47

SAKTI BURMAN
b. 1935

UNTITLED (THE SEASIDE)
40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
Oil on canvas
1960
Signed & Dated: Bottom Centre

` 40,00,000 - 60,00,000 | $ 48,780 - 73,170

Provenance: Property from a collection based
in Chennai.

Painted in 1960, four years following Sakti Burman’s
relocation to Paris and enrollment at the Ecole
Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, the presented
lot marks a significant juncture in his life and career.
Despite encountering financial challenges during
his early years, Burman’s trajectory underwent a
remarkable transformation through encounters
with influential figures and exposure to pivotal
artworks. His sojourns to Italy introduced him to
the masterpieces of Renaissance luminaries such
as Raphael, da Vinci, Titian, and Botticelli, while
his time in Spain immersed him in the works of
Francisco Goya and Diego Velazquez, all of whom
left an indelible imprint on his artistic sensibilities.
In the French milieu, Burman found inspiration
in the works of Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, and
Pierre Bonnard, whose art profoundly influenced his
own. The landscapes from this period, including the
present piece, bear traces of Matisse’s spontaneous
brushwork, Bonnard’s intimate portrayal of interiors
and rooftops, and an infusion of Indian aesthetics, all
synthesized into a style uniquely his own.