At Artworld Sarala’s Art Centre, it feels like stepping back into the Bengal School of Art and its legacies, an early 20th-century movement that sought to forge a distinct Indian artistic identity by reviving indigenous traditions and moving away from Western academic realism. The movement was shaped by prominent artists such as Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose, while figures such as Gaganendranath Tagore pushed its visual language towards a new form of modernism. Techniques such as wash and tempera became famous, drawing inspiration from the Japanese watercolour methods and the ancient frescoes of the Ajanta Caves.The same legacy can be seen in the works of artists such as Bimal Kundu and Pradip Maitra, both from Bengal, whose practices over the decades have remained rooted in this distinct visual language. Having been taught by some of the movement’s pioneers, their works carry not only their own artistic sensibilities but also a strong connection to the generations of artists who came before them. Watercolour reveries
Watercolour painting titled She in the Costume by Pradip Maitra
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In Pradip Maitra’s watercolours, he is inspired by the Victorian era, some of which reflects in his paintings. The painting, She in the Costume, features a lady wearing a red gown with patterns and frills that is reminiscent of the time when Calcutta was the capital under British rule. All of his watercolours are rendered in transparent colour layers, where diluted layers of colours are applied multiple times to create the translucent effect on paper. “For my watercolours I am inspired by artists like JMW Turner and Shymal Dutta Ray whose techniques I use in my paintings,” says Maitra.
