Page 102 - Iconic Masters October2023

Lot No. 85
JOGEN CHOWDHURY
b. 1939

UNTITLED
38 x 38 in (96.5 x 96.5 cm)
Acrylic & pastel on canvas
2022
Signed & Dated: Various

` 25,00,000 - 30,00,000 | $ 29,412 - 35,294

Provenance: Property from an international collection.
Artwork was acquired by the present owner directly
from the artist.

Eminent Bengali artist Jogen Chowdhury is associated
with works that are a fusion of contemporary aesthetics
and influences from Indian traditional art. Known as
the ‘master of the unbroken line’, he created varied
impressive works that featured flowing, uninterrupted
lines, evidenced in the presented lot as well. He first
started using mythological figures as subjects upon
his appointment as curator at the Rashtrapati Bhavan
in 1972. Since then, his oeuvre has been replete
with characters such as Lord Ganesha, Goddess Durga
and Bakasura.

Depicted here is a portrait of Goddess Durga, a recurring
subject for the artist who was heavily inspired by his
Bengali roots, indigenous art forms such as Kalighat and
Hindu mythology. He would attribute his reverence for
and fascination with the female figure to his childhood
in Bengal. His female figures can be seen with many
elements typical of the idols of Goddess Durga during
Durga Puja, especially their large, sculpted eyes that
seem kohl-lined. In the presented lot, Goddess Durga
can be seen with the same heavily lined eyes, adorned
with a necklace and crown, flowing hair and a third
eye. The subject is given an expressive appearance
and a dramatic characterisation through Chowdhury’s
The artist working on the presented lot. utilisation of contoured lines and careful distortion.