KOLKATA: Renowned painter and former Rajya Sabha MP Jogen Chowdhury died at a private hospital along the EM Bypass in Kolkata on Sunday morning. He was 87.
Chowdhury was undergoing treatment for blood cancer and a urinary tract infection. His condition deteriorated on Saturday, and he was put on ventilation with his family’s consent.
According to hospital sources, he had been suffering from blood cancer for more than a year and had undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy over the past 14 months.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari condoled his death on Sunday, saying Chowdhury’s artistic legacy would remain “immortal through the ages”.
Describing him as an artist of great stature, Adhikari said his body of work was a treasure for the state and the nation. “Chowdhury’s rich contributions in the field of art are evident in numerous government buildings, including Rashtrapati Bhavan. The works he left behind will remain for centuries,” he told reporters in Ramnagar in Purba Medinipur.
"A maestro whose distinctive strokes redefined Indian modern art, Shri Jogen Chowdhury was a towering pillar of our cultural world," the CM wrote on X.
Painter Samir Aich also mourned Chowdhury's death, describing it as a "personal loss".
His passing marked the death of an art form in the country, including the Bengal School of Art, Aich said.
Bengali writer Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay also mourned the painter's death, describing him as a longtime friend and associate.
"Jogen was a long-term friend and associate, and I have memories of 'adda' with him. His death is a great loss," he said.
Chowdhury also had a house in Santiniketan, where the region's red earth and distinctive landscape served as inspiration for his artworks.
Born on February 16, 1939, in Daharpara village in Faridpur, then part of undivided Bengal, Chowdhury developed an early interest in art under the influence of his mother, who was skilled in 'alpana', a traditional form of floor art.
During Partition, his family moved to Kolkata, where he received formal training in art.
Chowdhury began his career as an art teacher at Howrah Zilla School before joining the Handloom Board in Kolkata as a designer in 1962.
In the late 1960s, he went to Paris for higher studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts. He developed his distinctive artistic style after returning to India.
Known for his unique visual language, Chowdhury drew inspiration from political and social themes as well as Indian and European art movements.
He was elected to the Rajya Sabha on a Trinamool Congress ticket and served from April 2014 to April 2020. The previous TMC government conferred the Banga Bibhushan, one of the state's highest civilian honours, on him in 2012.
(With inputs from PTI)