Page 378 - Manifest September 2024

Lot No. 222

K G SUBRAMANYAN

1924-2016
JANMASHTAMI (DIPTYCH)
47.5 x 96 in (120.6 x 243.7 cm)
Acrylic on canvas
2015
Signed & Dated: Verso
` 1,20,00,000 - 1,60,00,000
$ 146,341 - 195,122
Provenance: Property from an
international collection

A painter, muralist, sculptor, printmaker, writer,
scholar, teacher, and prolific art historian, K. G.
Subramanyan was a multi-talented Indian artist
who developed a uniquely individual artistic style
throughout his career. Initially studying economics at
Presidency College, Madras, he eventually pursued
art at Shantiniketan under the guidance of legendary
artists Nandalal Bose, Benode Behari Mukherjee,
and Ramkinkar Baij. In 1955, Subramanyan was
awarded a British Council Research Fellowship to
study at the Slade School of Art in London. Ten years
later, he travelled to New York as a Rockefeller Fellow.

Subramanyan’s works, a vibrant fusion of the
modern and the traditional, drew inspiration from
diverse sources, including indigenous Bengali
artistic traditions, Indian tribal art, folk symbolism,
and elements of European modernism such
as cubism. Drawing from the rich reservoirs of
personal memories and mythical tales, the artist
depicted women, children, objects, and animals
in a theatrical play of vibrant colours, imbuing
his canvases with a sense of magical realism.
In the presented lot, Subramanyan constructs a
scene — a seemingly non-linear narrative — within
vertical panels. Titled ‘Janmashtami’, the painting
celebrates the birth of Krishna. The various panels
depict charming stories and iconography commonly
associated with the blue-skinned deity, such as
Krishna playing the flute or stealing butter.