B. C. Sanyal
Encyclopedia
Bhabesh Chandra Sanyal commonly known as B. C. Sanyal (April 22, 1901 — August 9, 2003), the doyen of modernism
in Indian art
, was an India
n painter and sculpture and an Art teacher to three generations of artists. During his lifetime he not just saw the partition of the Indian subcontinent
three times, 1905, 1947 and 1971, but also witnessed 20th century Indian art
in all its phases.. His notable paintings include The flying scarecrow, Cow herd, Despair and Way to peace, which depicts Mahatma Gandhi with a Hindu and a Muslim child.
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan
in 1984, and India's highest award in visual arts, the Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement by Lalit Kala Akademi
, India's National Academy of Fine Arts in 1980.
in Assam
, he witnessed the Partition of Bengal
in 1905, while still a child. Though tragedy struck early, when he lost his father at six year, and was brought up by his mother, who had penchant for making dolls, which shaped the sculptor in him.
He later studied at Government College of Art & Craft (GCAC), Calcutta, where he was a student of teachers like Percy Brown and J.P. Ganguly.
College of Art, where he spent the following six years practicing and teaching painting and sculpture. During this period he has neither subscribed to the Bengal school nor sided with the Victorian academism, but evolved his own individualistic style, which got him noticed
The turning point in his career however came in 1929, when he was commissioned by Punjabi firm, Krishna Plaster Works to go to Lahore to make a bust of recently martyred leader, Lala Lajpat Rai
, ahead of Lahore Session of Indian National Congress
. He stayed back and soon became vice-principal of the Mayo School of Arts, Lahore (now known as National College of Arts
). Here two of students Satish Gujral
and Krishen Khanna went on to become prominent modernists of the post-independence period. He remained at Mayo till 1936, when he was forced to resign as the British Raj
viewed him as a "trouble-maker".
Subsequently, he set up the Lahore College of Art, a studio-cum-school, initially at the premises of the Forman Christian College
, at the invitation of its first Indian principal, Dr. S.K. Dutta. The school was Later it was formally inaugurated in a basement at the Dayal Singh Mansions, with an exhibition of prominent artists from Lahore, of the period. He continued to freelanced and taught here, till 1947.
After the partition of India
, Sanyal and his wife Snelata, a ghazal singer and theatre person, moved to Delhi, where he stayed for the rest of his life. Here he set up base in the 26, Gole Market
. This "refugee studio" soon became a hub for artists and students in Delhi, and later gallery 26. Soon it gave rise to the Delhi Shilpi Chakra, which he founded along with a number of artist-friends, had an important influence on the contemporary art in the North India
.. He showed at the Salon de Mai
, Paris
in 1949, and also participated in the Venice Biennale
(1953); in the same year he joined as Professor and Head of the Department of Art, Delhi Polytechnic, Kashmiri Gate
, (1953–1960), now upgraded to the College of Art.
He also remained part of the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society
(AIFACS), and secretary of the Lalit Kala Akademi
(LKA), India's National Academy of the Arts (1960–69) and later served as its vice-chairman. It was during his tenure at the LKA, strong foundation for the national body was laid and it also held its first triennial, now a permanent fixture.
As an artist working with watercolours and oil paintings, his themes revolved around archetypal human struggles, deeply focussed on the economically deprived. A number of his works are now part of the collection of National Gallery of Modern Art
, New Delhi
. His sculpture, The Veiled Figure, broke new grounds in sculpture as he portrayed the memory of his mother .
He also acted in a film Dance of the Wind
(1997). He set up a cottage at Andretta, at foothills of Dhauladhar
range in Himachal Pradesh
, where he came close to Norah Richards
. Till late in his age he remained engaged in setting up the Andretta artists’ resort and Nora Centre for the Arts at Andretta, near Palampur
in Kangra Valley
, Himachal Pradesh
., and to collect funds for his project, he continued to exhibit and sell his works. He remained active till the end, and at 101 ventured into lithograph with considerable success at Atlier print shop in Delhi.
The Government of India, issued a special postage stamp to commemorate his birth centenary in 2000 , while IGNCA, New Delhi in part of its celebrations, of his 100th birthday held a function on April 22, 2001, where an exhibition of tributes by over 170 artistes in various media was opened and a DVD on him along with Elizabeth Brunner, in Great Masters series was released
He died on August 9, 2003, in Nizamuddin East
, New Delhi, after a brief illness and was survived by his wife Snehlata and daughter Amba Sanyal, costume designer, while her husband KT Ravindran, is a noted architect and dean of Delhi’s School of Planning and Architecture
.
, India's National Academy of Fine Arts in 1980, Padma Bhushan
award in 1984 by Government of India
, the honorary citizenship of Baltimore
, USA in 1989 , Visva Bharati University's Gagan Abani Puraskar in 1993 and the Government of Assam
's Sankar Dev award in 1999.
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
in Indian art
Indian art
Indian Art is the visual art produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC to modern times. To viewers schooled in the Western tradition, Indian art may seem overly ornate and sensuous; appreciation of its refinement comes only gradually, as a rule. Voluptuous feeling is...
, was an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n painter and sculpture and an Art teacher to three generations of artists. During his lifetime he not just saw the partition of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
three times, 1905, 1947 and 1971, but also witnessed 20th century Indian art
Indian art
Indian Art is the visual art produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC to modern times. To viewers schooled in the Western tradition, Indian art may seem overly ornate and sensuous; appreciation of its refinement comes only gradually, as a rule. Voluptuous feeling is...
in all its phases.. His notable paintings include The flying scarecrow, Cow herd, Despair and Way to peace, which depicts Mahatma Gandhi with a Hindu and a Muslim child.
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
in 1984, and India's highest award in visual arts, the Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement by Lalit Kala Akademi
Lalit Kala Akademi
The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art is India's National Academy of Arts. It was an autonomous organization, established at New Delhi in 1954 by Government of India to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country...
, India's National Academy of Fine Arts in 1980.
Early life and education
Born in 1902 in DhubriDhubri
Dhubri is the headquarters of Dhubri district India. It is a small old town on the bank of the Brahmaputra and Gadadhar Rivers. In 1883, the town was first constituted as a Municipal Board and is situated about west from Guwahati, the state capital.Dhubri was an important commercial centre and...
in Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, he witnessed the Partition of Bengal
Partition of Bengal
Partition of Bengal may refer to the partition of the Bengal region during two separate occasions:*Partition of Bengal *Partition of Bengal...
in 1905, while still a child. Though tragedy struck early, when he lost his father at six year, and was brought up by his mother, who had penchant for making dolls, which shaped the sculptor in him.
He later studied at Government College of Art & Craft (GCAC), Calcutta, where he was a student of teachers like Percy Brown and J.P. Ganguly.
Career
In 1920, he joined the SeramporeSerampore
Serampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...
College of Art, where he spent the following six years practicing and teaching painting and sculpture. During this period he has neither subscribed to the Bengal school nor sided with the Victorian academism, but evolved his own individualistic style, which got him noticed
The turning point in his career however came in 1929, when he was commissioned by Punjabi firm, Krishna Plaster Works to go to Lahore to make a bust of recently martyred leader, Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai was an Indian author, freedom fighter and politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for freedom from the British Raj. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari or Sher-e-Punjab meaning the samem and was part of the Lal Bal Pal trio...
, ahead of Lahore Session of Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
. He stayed back and soon became vice-principal of the Mayo School of Arts, Lahore (now known as National College of Arts
National College of Arts
The National College of Arts Lahore, usually referred to by its acronym NCA, is a famous old college in Lahore, Pakistan.Like all old institutions, the National College of Arts, has a historical tradition. Much of its present tone was set long ago when it was known as the Mayo School of Arts...
). Here two of students Satish Gujral
Satish Gujral
Satish Gujral is an Indian painter, sculptor, muralist, graphic designer and architect. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1999....
and Krishen Khanna went on to become prominent modernists of the post-independence period. He remained at Mayo till 1936, when he was forced to resign as the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
viewed him as a "trouble-maker".
Subsequently, he set up the Lahore College of Art, a studio-cum-school, initially at the premises of the Forman Christian College
Forman Christian College
Forman Christian College University, or FCCU, is a chartered university in Lahore, Pakistan, named after its American-born founder, Dr. Charles William Forman.- History :...
, at the invitation of its first Indian principal, Dr. S.K. Dutta. The school was Later it was formally inaugurated in a basement at the Dayal Singh Mansions, with an exhibition of prominent artists from Lahore, of the period. He continued to freelanced and taught here, till 1947.
After the partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, Sanyal and his wife Snelata, a ghazal singer and theatre person, moved to Delhi, where he stayed for the rest of his life. Here he set up base in the 26, Gole Market
Gole Market
Gole Market is a middle-class locality in the heart of New Delhi, India, that grew around the octagonal market built by Edwin Lutyens in 1921 within a traffic roundabout...
. This "refugee studio" soon became a hub for artists and students in Delhi, and later gallery 26. Soon it gave rise to the Delhi Shilpi Chakra, which he founded along with a number of artist-friends, had an important influence on the contemporary art in the North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
.. He showed at the Salon de Mai
Salon de Mai
The Salon de Mai is a French group of artists which formed in a café in place du Palais Royal in Paris in October 1943 during the German occupation of France. It was founded in opposition to Nazi ideology and its condemnation of degenerate art...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1949, and also participated in the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
(1953); in the same year he joined as Professor and Head of the Department of Art, Delhi Polytechnic, Kashmiri Gate
Kashmiri Gate
The Kashmiri Gate is one of the thirteen gates of Walled City of Lahore in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.It is so named because it faces the direction of Kashmir. Inside there is a shopping area and market that is called "Kashmiri Bazaar" and a girls' college. This college, built upon an old haveli...
, (1953–1960), now upgraded to the College of Art.
He also remained part of the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society
All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society
The All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society is an independent arts organisation in India, founded in Delhi in 1928. In the decade after Indian independence, many of its functions were transferred to three national academies: Lalit Kala Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi and Sahitya Akademi for the...
(AIFACS), and secretary of the Lalit Kala Akademi
Lalit Kala Akademi
The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art is India's National Academy of Arts. It was an autonomous organization, established at New Delhi in 1954 by Government of India to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country...
(LKA), India's National Academy of the Arts (1960–69) and later served as its vice-chairman. It was during his tenure at the LKA, strong foundation for the national body was laid and it also held its first triennial, now a permanent fixture.
As an artist working with watercolours and oil paintings, his themes revolved around archetypal human struggles, deeply focussed on the economically deprived. A number of his works are now part of the collection of National Gallery of Modern Art
National Gallery of Modern Art
The National Gallery of Modern Art is the leading Indian art gallery. The main museum at New Delhi was established on March 29, 1954 by the Government of India, with subsequent branches at Mumbai and Bangalore...
, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. His sculpture, The Veiled Figure, broke new grounds in sculpture as he portrayed the memory of his mother .
He also acted in a film Dance of the Wind
Dance of the Wind
Swara Mandal or Dance of the Wind is an 1997 Hindi film written and directed by Rajan Khosa, it was the feature film debut of the director. It starred Kitu Gidwani and Bhaveen Gosain in lead roles...
(1997). He set up a cottage at Andretta, at foothills of Dhauladhar
Dhauladhar
The Dhauladhar range is a southern branch of the main Outer Himalayan chain of mountains. It rises spectacularly from the Indian plains to the north of Kangra and Mandi...
range in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
, where he came close to Norah Richards
Norah Richards
Norah Richards was an Irish-born actress and theatre practitioner, who was later called the Lady Gregory of the Punjab. She devoted 60 years of her life towards enriching the culture of this land of five rivers. She came to the Punjab in 1911, and produced in 1914 the first Punjabi play, Dulhan...
. Till late in his age he remained engaged in setting up the Andretta artists’ resort and Nora Centre for the Arts at Andretta, near Palampur
Palampur
Palampur is a green hill station and a municipal council in the Kangra Valley in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, surrounded on all sides by tea gardens and pine forests before they merge with the Dhauladhar ranges. Palampur is the tea capital of northwest India but tea is just one aspect that...
in Kangra Valley
Kangra Valley
Kangra Valley is situated in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is a popular tourist destination, with the peak season around March and April.Dharamsala, the headquarters of Kangra district, lies on the southern spur of Dhauladhar in the valley .-Geography:...
, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
., and to collect funds for his project, he continued to exhibit and sell his works. He remained active till the end, and at 101 ventured into lithograph with considerable success at Atlier print shop in Delhi.
The Government of India, issued a special postage stamp to commemorate his birth centenary in 2000 , while IGNCA, New Delhi in part of its celebrations, of his 100th birthday held a function on April 22, 2001, where an exhibition of tributes by over 170 artistes in various media was opened and a DVD on him along with Elizabeth Brunner, in Great Masters series was released
He died on August 9, 2003, in Nizamuddin East
Nizamuddin east
Nizamuddin East is an upscale residential colony in Delhi, India. It is located on Mathura Road and is home to Humayun's Tomb, one of Delhi's most famous monuments. It is considered to be one of New Delhi,s greenest and most peaceful residential colonies...
, New Delhi, after a brief illness and was survived by his wife Snehlata and daughter Amba Sanyal, costume designer, while her husband KT Ravindran, is a noted architect and dean of Delhi’s School of Planning and Architecture
School of Planning and Architecture
School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi is a National Resource Institute of India. It is also one of the few premier 'Centrally Funded Technical Institutions ' under the Government of India. Currently there are 3 SPAs all over India, administered under the MHRD, Government of India...
.
Awards and recognition
He was awarded the Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement by Lalit Kala AkademiLalit Kala Akademi
The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art is India's National Academy of Arts. It was an autonomous organization, established at New Delhi in 1954 by Government of India to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country...
, India's National Academy of Fine Arts in 1980, Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
award in 1984 by Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
, the honorary citizenship of Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, USA in 1989 , Visva Bharati University's Gagan Abani Puraskar in 1993 and the Government of Assam
Government of Assam
The Government of Assam is the provincial governing authority of the state of Assam in the Republic of India.It consists of the Governor as the head of the state, who is nominated by the Government of India. The head of government is the Chief Minister, who is the leader of the group that commands...
's Sankar Dev award in 1999.
Further reading
- Bhabesh Chandra Sanyal Ed. Jaya Appasamy, S. A. Krishnan. Lalit Kala Akademi, 1967.
External links
- Remembering Baba Sanyal - A journey from Lahore to Delhi
- PROFILE: B.C.SANYAL - Old Man Art India TodayIndia TodayIndia Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...