Artist of dark fantasy Ganesh Pyne dies at 76
13 March 2013 7:08 AM IST
One of India’s most important contemporary artists, Ganesh Pyne, died after suffering a heart attack in a city hospital on Tuesday. He was 76 years old. Yehudi Menuin and Indira Gandhi were among the many famous admirers of Pyne’s works.
Pyne was born in Kolkata in 1937 and in his long career of five decades his paintings were exhibited around the world---Paris, London, Washington and Germany.
Influenced by paintings of Rembrandt and Abanindranath Tagore, Pyne was one of the founders of the prestigious Society of Contemporary Artists of Calcutta in the 60s. Recalls artist Ganesh Haloi, a contemporary of Pyne, ‘He was pretty reclusive and introspective personally.
He had few friends with whom he opened up. A follower of the Bengal School represented by Abanindranath, Pyne never touched oil. All of us especially Pyne, were searching for a new idiom for expressing ourselves on canvas in the 60s’. But Pyne’s subjects were his own and a unique blend of modernism and tradition.
Pyne played with shadows and his canvases often had dark and brooding imagery. He also played with folklore and fantasy. He often brooded about death. ‘His paintings had a timeless and mythological quality. He was introspective by nature.
He came from a conservative Bengali family and a Radhakrishna temple outside his house influenced him deeply. As young painters in the 60s we organised an art fair in the city and often shared tea and bonhomie at a particular tea stall in the Esplanade area,’ said artist Shuvaprasanna, paying tribute to his friend.
Artist Samir Aich said that Pyne’s death ‘was a great loss for the entire cultural fraternity’ of India, while painter Jogen Choudhury said that he had left a huge void both at home and abroad.
Pyne’s work remains highly prized and features in many public and private collections of India.
Pyne was born in Kolkata in 1937 and in his long career of five decades his paintings were exhibited around the world---Paris, London, Washington and Germany.
Influenced by paintings of Rembrandt and Abanindranath Tagore, Pyne was one of the founders of the prestigious Society of Contemporary Artists of Calcutta in the 60s. Recalls artist Ganesh Haloi, a contemporary of Pyne, ‘He was pretty reclusive and introspective personally.
He had few friends with whom he opened up. A follower of the Bengal School represented by Abanindranath, Pyne never touched oil. All of us especially Pyne, were searching for a new idiom for expressing ourselves on canvas in the 60s’. But Pyne’s subjects were his own and a unique blend of modernism and tradition.
Pyne played with shadows and his canvases often had dark and brooding imagery. He also played with folklore and fantasy. He often brooded about death. ‘His paintings had a timeless and mythological quality. He was introspective by nature.
He came from a conservative Bengali family and a Radhakrishna temple outside his house influenced him deeply. As young painters in the 60s we organised an art fair in the city and often shared tea and bonhomie at a particular tea stall in the Esplanade area,’ said artist Shuvaprasanna, paying tribute to his friend.
Artist Samir Aich said that Pyne’s death ‘was a great loss for the entire cultural fraternity’ of India, while painter Jogen Choudhury said that he had left a huge void both at home and abroad.
Pyne’s work remains highly prized and features in many public and private collections of India.
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