Modern Indian painters
Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906)
Used European oil paint and realism to paint Indian myths, like Shakuntala and Lady in the Moonlight. His press printed cheap copies, so his gods and heroines reached ordinary homes.
Jamini Roy (1887–1972)
Left oil realism and learnt from Bengal folk art (Kalighat pats). He used thick outlines, flat colours made from earth and plants, and simple faces with big eyes. Work: Mother and Child, Santhal girls.
Amrita Sher-Gil (1913–1941)
Trained in Paris, then studied Ajanta and Indian miniatures. She painted quiet, sad village women with warm colours. Works: Three Girls, Bride's Toilet, Brahmacharis.
M.F. Husain (1915–2011)
Member of the Progressive Artists' Group (Mumbai, 1947). Strong, fast lines, bright colours, horses and scenes of Indian life. Works: Between the Spider and the Lamp, the horse series.
Modern Indian printmakers
A print is a picture made on a block or plate and pressed onto paper, so many copies are possible. Main methods: woodcut (cut away wood, ink the raised part), etching (lines bitten into metal by acid, ink sits in the grooves), lithograph (drawing on stone with grease) and screen print (ink pushed through a mesh).
- Somnath Hore (1921–2006): prints and paper-pulp works on famine and pain; series Wounds.
- Jyoti Bhatt (born 1934): etchings and screen prints with folk motifs, birds and photos; Baroda.
- Anupam Sud (born 1944): etchings of human figures, masks and city relationships.
- Laxma Goud (born 1940): fine-line etchings of village life, animals and people of Telangana.
Modern Indian sculptors
- D.P. Roy Chowdhury (1899–1975): realistic bronze; Triumph of Labour (workers moving a huge rock, Chennai) and Martyrs' Memorial (Patna).
- Ramkinkar Baij (1906–1980): giant outdoor works in cement and laterite at Santiniketan; Santhal Family walks forward with a child and a dog.
- Amarnath Sehgal (1922–2007): rough bronze forms about suffering and freedom; The Captive.
- P.V. Janakiram (1930–1995): cut and welded metal sheets with fine line-work; figures of gods like Ganesha and Christ.
Common ideas and how to answer exam questions
All twelve tried to be modern and Indian at the same time. They borrowed from Europe (oil, etching, welding) but looked at Indian folk, temples and village life. To describe a work, use: artist → title → medium → subject → form/colour/line → feeling → why modern.
Try it: Make a mini print. Cut a potato in half, scratch a simple shape into it with a spoon, dip it in poster colour and press it on paper 5 times. You have made 5 copies, just like a printmaker.
Key formulas and definitions
- Painting: Ravi Varma (oil realism), Jamini Roy (folk line), Amrita Sher-Gil (Paris + Ajanta), M.F. Husain (Progressive group)
- Print: woodcut = raised part prints; etching = grooves hold ink; screen print = ink through mesh
- Printmakers: Somnath Hore, Jyoti Bhatt, Anupam Sud, Laxma Goud
- Sculpture: D.P. Roy Chowdhury (bronze), Ramkinkar Baij (cement), Amarnath Sehgal (bronze), P.V. Janakiram (welded metal)
Worked examples
1. Describe "Three Girls" by Amrita Sher-Gil.
Oil on canvas, 1935. Three young women sit close together, quiet and waiting. Rich reds, greens and browns, simple flat shapes, serious faces. Mood: calm sadness about women's lives. Modern because it mixes Paris training with Indian subject and Ajanta-like colour.
2. Describe "Santhal Family" by Ramkinkar Baij.
A large open-air sculpture (1938) in cement and laterite pebbles at Santiniketan. A Santhal man carries children in baskets, the woman walks beside him with a dog. Strong, rough forms. It honours ordinary tribal people; it was among the first big public modern sculptures in India.
3. How is an etching by Laxma Goud made?
A metal plate is coated with wax. He scratches fine lines through the wax, then puts the plate in acid, which eats grooves where lines are. Ink is rubbed into grooves, the surface wiped, and the plate pressed onto damp paper in a press.
Common mistakes
- Putting Raja Ravi Varma in the Bengal School. He came earlier and used European oil realism.
- Thinking a print is a photocopy. A print is an original artwork made by the artist from a block or plate.
- Mixing Ramkinkar Baij (cement, Santiniketan) with D.P. Roy Chowdhury (bronze, Triumph of Labour).
- Writing only names. Exams want medium, subject and style for each artist.