Priya Singh
Head of Department
Lot 17
Jamini Roy(1887-1972)Untitled (Drummers)
10 December 2024, 15:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £15,360 inc. premium
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Louise Almeras
Cataloguer
Jamini Roy (1887-1972)
Untitled (Drummers)
signed 'Jamini Roy' in Bengali lower right
gouache on card, framed
38.2 x 72cm (15 1/16 x 28 3/8in).
signed 'Jamini Roy' in Bengali lower right
gouache on card, framed
38.2 x 72cm (15 1/16 x 28 3/8in).
Footnotes
Provenance
Property from a private collection, London;
Gifted by the artist to the vendors' mother in the early 1960s;
Thence by descent.
Roy's Untitled (Drummers) is a striking representation of his mastery in synthesizing traditional Indian folk art with modernist sensibilities. Executed in his signature style, the figures, with their exaggerated almond-shaped eyes, stylized facial features, and strong, sweeping contours, are reminiscent of the Kalighat patua style of painting, which Roy often drew inspiration from. The palette is dominated by earthy tones of ochre, red, greens and yellow, further highlighting his use of natural pigments and reflecting his conscious departure from the Western academic tradition towards an indigenous visual language.
The figures are arranged in a flattened, frontal perspective, a characteristic feature of his work that emphasizes the two-dimensional surface while adding a sense of immediacy and intimacy. Through Untitled (Drummers), Roy pays homage to rural life and the spirit of community, capturing the essence of folk traditions with a modernist approach.