1. JAMINI ROY
Date of Birth: April 11, 1887
Place of Birth: April 24, 1972
Date of Death: Beliatore, West Bengal, India
Place of Death: Kolkata, India
Profession: Painting
Father: Ramataran Roy
Awards: Padma Bhushan (1954), Viceroy's gold medal (1934), Fellow of the
Lalit Kala Akademi (1955)
o Walk into an average middle-class art-loving household of West Bengal, and chances are that you might come
across a well-preserved portrait of Jamini Roy rather than a fancy looking artwork of one of India’s many modern
artists.
o The paintings had to be well-preserved, for Jamini Roy would not have sold his work, had he doubted his buyer’s
passion for art.
o His passion for simple Indian folk art was such that he did not care about selling his works for fancy prices and
only sold them for as little as 350 rupees. And he would buy back his works, should he find out that his paintings
are maintained poorly by the buyer.
o Influenced by the simplicity of Kalighat paintings (Indian folk art), Jamini Roy gave up on modern art and stuck to
his roots, winning millions of hearts in the process.
o In 1954, the Government of India honored him with Padma Bhushan for his contribution towards art.
o Jamini Roy was born in the year 1887 at Beliatore village in the Bankura district of West Bengal.
o Roy was born into an affluent family of land-owners. His father, Ramataran Roy, resigned from his government
services to pursue his interest in art.
o In the year 1903, when he was only 16 years old, Jamini Roy left his village and made it all the way to Calcutta
(now Kolkata) to enroll himself at the Government College of Art.
o He received education under Abanindranath Tagore, famous for his valuable contribution in the field of modern
art.
o Roy finished his education in 1908 and was given a Diploma in Fine Arts.
2. CAREER:-
o Jamini Roy started off his career as a portrait painter but wasn’t entirely happy about being a portrait painter
who worked for commission.
o It was in the year 1925 that he heard his true calling outside the famous Kalighat temple in Calcutta.
o He knew that the Bengali folk art could be used as a stone to bring down not two but three birds –a way to
simplify and portray the lives of common people; to make his art accessible to all; to bring back the glory of
Indian art.
o From that moment onwards, his paintings started reflecting the Kalighat style of art.
o By the early 1930s, Jamini Roy became fully conversant with the lines of the Kalighat idiom and produced
more number of art works.
o In 1938, his art works became the first Indian paintings to be displayed at a British-ruled street in Calcutta.
o thought process began to bear fruit in the 1940s when his works were bought by average middle-class Indians.
o With the passage of time, his paintings were only reflecting the indigenous art of Kalighat painting, along with
the terracotta's of the Bishnupur temple.
o In the following years, his works were exhibited at prestigious shows in places like London and New York City.
o By now, Jamini Roy had accomplished what he had intended to do when he first switched over from the
Western classical styleto the folk art of Bengal.
HIS STYLE:-
o Jamini Roy’s paintings that belong to the early 1920’s reflect the influences of the Bengal School of art.
o Initially, he came up with some excellent paintings that marked his entry into the Post-Impressionist genre of
landscapes and portraits.
o Throughout his works, his brush strokes were largely bold and sweeping.
o Around mid-1930s, Jamini Roy started painting on materials like cloth, mats and even wood coated with lime.
o He also started experimenting with natural colors and pigments derived from mud, chalk powder and flowers
instead of European paints.
3. JAMINI ROY’S FAMOUS PAINTINGS:-
o Ramayana – Art lovers and critics would unanimously agree that his 1946 masterpiece ‘Ramayana’ is his
magnum opus. Created using Kalighatpata style, this particular work of his is a series of paintings portrayed
across 17 canvases. Roy used vegetable colors and pigments derived from natural elements to narrate his
version of the great Indian epic. Sarada Charan Das, the successor of K.C. Das, bought the entire series, which
now adorns the walls of his residence ‘Rossogolla Bhavan.’ The residence boasts of the artist’s largest private
collection with 25 of his original paintings. Jamini Roy also came up with individual episodes of Ramayana,
some of which are now displayed in places like the National Art Gallery of India and the Victoria Memorial Hall.
o Bride and two Companions – Painted in the year 1952, this particular piece stands out for its majestic
indigo of Bengal. Critics described this painting as having a meaning and reason attached to every aspect of it.
o Krishna and Balarama – Lord Krishna is depicted along with his brother Balarama in this painting. Roy had
used distinct earthy colors against a majestic red color backdrop.
o Krishna and Radha Series – Roy created a series of paintings depicting the colorful life of Radha and
Krishna. He even painted the life of Krishna along with his other Gopis (girlfriends).
BRIDE AND TWO COMPANIONS KRISHNA AND BALARAMA RAMAYANA KRISHNA AND RADHA SERIES
o . Jamini Roy’s died on April 24, 1972, a few days after he celebrated his 85th birthday.
