Eminent painter Jogen Chowdhury passed away on Sunday at the age of 87, following a prolonged battle with a rare blood cancer.
His most famous works are Tiger in the Moonlight, Story of Woman, Ganapati, Couple, Nati Binodini and The Silver Throne.
He was born in Daharpara village, now in Bangladesh, and was a prominent Indian painter, academic, and politician. He pursued his artistic education at the Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata, from 1955 to 1960, before expanding his training under a scholarship at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1965 to 1967.
Jogen Chowdhury is widely regarded as the "master of the unbroken line". Inspired in part by the traditional Kalighat style of painting, he used flowing lines to convey the character and emotions of his subjects. Rather than depicting the human body in its natural form, he often distorted it while keeping his lines unbroken. This distinctive approach became one of his most significant contributions to contemporary Indian art.
Chowdhury was best known for his depictions of human figures, particularly men and women rendered through line contours and cross-hatching. He worked extensively in ink, watercolour and pastel.
The influence of Indian and European art movements was evident in Jogen Chowdhury’s work. Deeply interested in history, he drew on his own experiences of Partition, displacement and isolation. These experiences found expression in his figures, which often convey a deep and persistent sense of loneliness.
According to R Sivakumar, a renowned art historian, the pulse and rhythm of Jogen Chowdhury's art comes from a filial affinity to nature and milieu.
He also contributed to art education, serving as a professor of painting at Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, from 1987. His works were exhibited in India and internationally, including at the São Paulo Biennale and the Havana Biennale. His honours included the Prix de la Jeune Peinture in Paris in 1966 and the Madhya Pradesh government's Kalidas Samman in 2001.
Professionally, he served as the Curator of Art at the Rashtrapati Bhavan from 1972 to 1987, after which he joined Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan, as a Professor of Painting starting in 1987.
In addition to his creative career, Chowdhury entered national politics and served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing the All India Trinamool Congress from 2014 to 2020.
Throughout his life, his contributions were honoured with prestigious state awards, including the Kalidas Samman in 2001 by the Madhya Pradesh government, the Banga Bibhushan in 2012 and he was honoured at the 2nd Havana Biennale.
(With inputs from ANI)