Jamini Roy

Born in the year 1887 at the Bankura District of West Bengal. Jamini Roy’s paintings are legendary all over the world and are part of the collection of various art collectors and museums world over and the famous Victoria and Albert Museum in London. His works sold well and were exhibited in London in 1946 and also New York in 1953.

Jamini Roy enrolled in the Government College of Art in Kolkata to pursue a diploma in Fine Arts. It was at this college he studied under the guidance of Abanindranath Tagore who is also considered to be a major influence on modern art in India.

Jamini trained in forms of artwork that were prevalent during that time, such as painting classical nudes as well as stills with oil. Inspired from the Bengali culture and lifestyle, he wanted his artwork to entertain and be easily accessible to people from all walks of life. He also wanted Indian art to actually evolve in its own unique style. His works kind of reflect the rustic culture and the way of life, distinctively known for his female figures and cats with lobsters. His sketches pronounced the advent of the artwork that would follow using natural colours in motifs or patterns. His works were at some stage influenced by the Kalighat paintings.

Around the mid-1930s, he stopped working on the canvas and began experimenting with several mediums such as cloth, mats coated with lime and wood, and terracotta. And speaking of paper, his sketches in books and personal dairies were found extensively.

Currently Jamini Roy’s paintings are primarily adapted onto fabrics that are used to create sarees and other cloth line. Very interestingly Jamini’s art forms were considered to be a kind of revolt against the Western world of those times. He was honored with the State award of Padma Bhushan in 1954.