Important Notice

“To me, creative art demands transforming raw material from surroundings observed deliberately or by chance into an integrated whole.” - N S BENDRE

A towering figure in the world of modern Indian art, N S Bendre, fondly known as Dada, closely followed European art movements prevalent from the 1930s through the '80s and deftly adapted these to his subject matter. Influenced by Western artists such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque... “To me, creative art demands transforming raw material from surroundings observed deliberately or by chance into an integrated whole.” - N S BENDRE

A towering figure in the world of modern Indian art, N S Bendre, fondly known as Dada, closely followed European art movements prevalent from the 1930s through the '80s and deftly adapted these to his subject matter. Influenced by Western artists such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Wassily Kandinsky, Bendre experimented with the principles of Cubism and abstraction - recognising the need for distortion - while equally considering the interplay of colour and space that eventually brought all the various elements together in continuous harmony. Over decades, he incorporated and adapted these influences into his own style rooted in Indian formalism, and his choice of subject matter - classically Indian themes such as birds and animals, figures in village settings, and quintessentially Indian landscapes.

Bendre believed that "Indian art is very tolerant. It has accepted a number of influences from outside, digested them and created its own art forms... The respect for the flat area on which to paint, the use of conceptual images understandable to the people at large, based on observation and memory, have been characteristic of Indian art. The colour orchestration that can have its impact on the Indian mind, dedication and devotion to the subject matter including geometrical forms working as magic, the resulting quality of peace of mind and serenity all this is Indian." (Artist quoted in Ram Chatterji, Bendre: The Painter and the Person, Mumbai: The Bendre Foundation for Art and Culture & Indus Corporation, 1990, p. 63)

Born in Indore in 1910 to a family of civil servants, Bendre was the fifth of 14 siblings. Having contracted a cornea infection as an infant, Bendre was blind in his right eye. "One would speculate whether the apparent handicap has in fact sharpened in sight. Nana's keen observation would suggest that his senses have indeed been heightened." (Chatterji, p. 4) Despite his disability and the lack of scope to learn artistic skills at school, Bendre persevered in his creative interests, encouraged by his mother whose interest in ritualistic imagery fuelled his own output as she prompted him to create illustrations, sketches and clay figures for religious festivals.

Though Bendre joined Holkar College as a science student after matriculating from high school, he shortly transferred to their arts program. He also attended the State School of Art which had just been established in 1929, where his "training was entirely through their observation of nature, never through books... They began with pastel and gradually learnt to handle water colour, gouache, and finally oil colour. They were taught to observe the behaviour of light at different hours of the day and night and were made to work even in the light of the hurricane patterns they carried. This was their introduction to an impressionistic palette that almost discarded black. They also became conscious of the fact that line did not exist in nature-it was an invention of the artist for the purpose of delineating form." (Chatterji, p. 8) These formative teachings impacted and influenced Bendre throughout his career.

Bendre's graduation from Holkar College in 1933 was followed by his success at the Annual Exhibition of the Bombay Art Society during which he won the Silver Medal for his painting Vagabond. Having cemented his path as a painter, Bendre began pursuing art earnestly - his winning streak at the Bombay Art Society exhibitions continued, and his submission at the Simla Art Exhibition shared a prize with Amrita Sher-Gil, an honour that he refused.

Bendre also travelled across the country during this time, exhibiting his works extensively and winning many awards and prizes. In 1939, after a brief three year eventful period in Kashmir, Bendre shifted base to Bombay where he started an art class, whose attendance grew in numbers, and established his reputation in the eyes of stalwarts such as S B Palsikar and K S Kulkarni. In 1947, at the time of Independence, Bendre went to the United States, gaining exposure to the burgeoning American art movements. He also held one of his earliest solo exhibitions at Windermere Gallery, New York in January 1948.

This was immediately followed by a journey to Europe, which lasted for 10 months beginning with London, where he visited national museums and galleries and saw firsthand the works of Turner and Constable. "The voyage had given Bendre enough time to take stock of his experiences of the last ten months. He tried to assess their impact on his outlook. His firsthand acquaintance with the art world of the West had undoubtedly made a strong impression... He felt convinced representation was not the ultimate goal for an artist. Emphasis had to be laid on ultrasensorial factors. To achieve this, it was essential to arrive at an integration of all forms, an interrelation of chosen elements. And for this, distortion was essential-no movement or action was possible without it." (Chatterji, p. 41)

Upon his return to Bombay, Bendre decided to break away from his previous style and adopt a new idiom of painting - inspired by his travels and exposure to contemporary Western art movements - but one that was met by resistance by some of his benefactors.

Bendre was also part of the committee to restructure and reorganise the state of art teaching in Bombay to suit contemporary standards, at this time. Here he met Hansa Mehta, who had just occupied the position of Vice Chancellor at the newly established M S University of Baroda and was keen to form an art faculty. Encouraged to apply for a job there, Bendre was eventually offered the position to head the Painting section, which he accepted. In 1959, Bendre took over the Dean's role which he occupied until 1966.

Bendre began his experiments with Pointillism after retiring from his post as the Dean of M S University, Baroda. He started adding coloured dots to the painted surfaces of his works, "finding the new technique suitable to capture the emotional gestalt of a particular scene. The primary aim, he said, was "to catch the original impact of the total image conceived"." (Amrita Jhaveri, A Guide to 101 Modern & Contemporary Indian Artists, Mumbai: India Book House, 2005, p. 19)

The present lot is a fine example of his Pointillist phase, created at a time when he had achieved mastery over his style. Depicting a group of women clad in bright traditional clothing set against a rustic background of small buildings in faded colours, the present lot is representative of Bendre's "innovative use of colour, his sensitivity to the play of subtle hues in nature, and his ability to transfer them to canvas with unmatched dexterity, whatever the medium." (Chatterji, p. 1)

According to Padmanabh N Bendre, the artist's son, Bendre's form of Pointillism ... (Shaikh Ayaz, "N S Bendre: The Compulsive Sketcher," openthemagazine.com, 19 November 2021, online) "Unlike Seurat's scientific method whereby he started by applying darker colour dots onto the canvas and then moved to lighter shades, dad's technique was different in the sense that he had a more emotional and visceral response to his subjects and he worked backwards, from light to darkness." (Padmanabh N Bendre quoted in "N S Bendre: The Compulsive Sketcher")

As evident in the present lot, Bendre's use of dots in his landscapes "suggest textures of tree trunks, the foliage in the fields and the leaves of the trees and even the ruggedness of the earth. At times, the atmospheric effects of cloudy weather or approaching evening or twilight are suggested." (R. Parimoo, "Profile of a Pioneer, N S Bendre," Lalit Kala Contemporary, New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi, 1991, p. 74) Here, besides enhancing the texture of the foliage in the background, the coloured dots also enrich the colourful clothing worn by the women.

The present lot is a strong example of how the artist's lyrical style and careful balance of colour harmony evoke a sense of sanguine tranquillity. It also exemplifies how he often employed female figures to achieve this tranquil quality, as can also be seen in lot 14. As stated by the artist "there is already a lot of misery in this world, I do not want to add to it. I paint because I derive pleasure from painting and I try to give pleasure to others. That is the philosophy of my art." (Artist quoted in Jhaveri, p. 19)

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