Benode Behari Mukherjee
Encyclopedia
Binod Behari Mukherjee (7 February 1904 – 11 November 1980) was an India
n artist from West Bengal
state. Mukherjee was one of the pioneers of Indian modern art, as a painter and as a celebrated muralist. He was one of the earliest artists in modern India to take up mural as a mode of artistic expression, and his murals display a subtle understanding of environmental and architectural nuances.
, Kolkata
(then Calcutta), now in the Indian state of West Bengal
. He taught at Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan
.
, the celebrated sculptor. In 1925, he joined Kala Bhavan as a member of the teaching faculty. He inspired many brilliant students over the years, notable among them are painter Jahar Dasgupta, K.G. Subramanyan
http://www.mattersofart.com/bookreviewindex.html, Beohar Rammanohar Sinha http://www.saatchionline.com/abrsinha, sculptor & printmaker Somnath Hore
, designer Riten Majumdar and filmmaker Satyajit Ray
. In 1949, he left Kala Bhavan and joined as a curator at the Nepal Government Museum in Kathmandu. From 1951-52, he taught at the Banasthali Vidyapith
in Rajasthan. In 1952, he along with his wife Leela, started an art training school in Mussoorie
. In 1958, he returned to Kala Bhavan, and later became its principal. In 1979, a collection of his Bengali writings, Chitrakar was published.
and traditional wash techniques of China and Japan. He took lessons in calligraphy from travelling artists from Japan. During 1937-38 he spend his years in Japan with artist such as Toba Sojo
. Similarly he also learnt from the Indian miniature painting in the frescoes of Mughal and Rajput periods. Idioms of Western modern art also bore heavily upon his style, as he is often seen to blend Cubist techniques (such as multi-perspective and faceting of planes) to solve problems of space. Above all, his style was celebrated and acclaimed because of the harmonious blend he achieved out of all these different traditions. His grand murals inside the Visva-Bharati campus are testimony to that. In 1948 he went to become director of National Museum of Kathmandu, in Nepal
. In the later years he went to Doon valley, where he started an art school but had to discontinue due the financial shortage.
In 1972 Mukherjee's former student at Santiniketan, filmmaker Satyajit Ray
, made a documentary film on him titled "The Inner Eye
". The film is an intimate investigation of Mukherjee's creative persona and how he copes with his blindness being a visual artist.
Mukherjee's daughter Mrinalini is also an artist.http://www.saffronart.com/artistdetails.asp?sourceid=789.
award. He was conferred with the Deshikottama by the Visva Bharati University in 1977. He received the Rabindra Puraskar
in 1980.
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 artist from West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
state. Mukherjee was one of the pioneers of Indian modern art, as a painter and as a celebrated muralist. He was one of the earliest artists in modern India to take up mural as a mode of artistic expression, and his murals display a subtle understanding of environmental and architectural nuances.
Early life
Binod Behari Mukherjee was born in BehalaBehala
Behala is a neighbourhood in South West Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Behala was officially known as South Suburban Municipality until it was merged with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on January, 1984. Now it is broadly spread across Ward Nos.118 and 132 of the KMC and is...
, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
(then Calcutta), now in the Indian state of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. He taught at Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...
.
Career
Mukherjee was born with severe eye problem, being myopic on one eye and blind in the other, he continued to paint and do murals even after he lost his eyesight completely following an eye operation in 1956. In 1919, he took admission in Kala-Bhavan, the art faculty of Visva-Bharati University. He was a student of another celebrated Indian artist Nandlal Bose, and a friend and close associate of Ramkinkar BaijRamkinkar Baij
Ramkinkar Baij was an Indian Santhal sculptor, known as the Pioneer of Modern Indian Sculpture. He was one of the first Indian Adivasi artists to understand the language of modern Western art and use it in his sculptures...
, the celebrated sculptor. In 1925, he joined Kala Bhavan as a member of the teaching faculty. He inspired many brilliant students over the years, notable among them are painter Jahar Dasgupta, K.G. Subramanyan
K.G. Subramanyan
K.G. Subramanyan is a contemporary Indian painter. One of most revered of living painters in India, often drawing comparison with Tyeb Mehta and M.F. Husain, he is celebrated as much for his wide-ranging scholarship as for his visual satires.-Life:...
http://www.mattersofart.com/bookreviewindex.html, Beohar Rammanohar Sinha http://www.saatchionline.com/abrsinha, sculptor & printmaker Somnath Hore
Somnath Hore
Somnath Hore was an Indian sculptor and printmaker. His sketches, sculptures and prints were a reaction to major historical crises and events of 20th century Bengal, such as the Bengal Famine of 1943 and the Tebhaga movement.- Early life :...
, designer Riten Majumdar and filmmaker Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
. In 1949, he left Kala Bhavan and joined as a curator at the Nepal Government Museum in Kathmandu. From 1951-52, he taught at the Banasthali Vidyapith
Banasthali Vidyapith
Banasthali Vidyapith is an all woman's university located in the Tonk district of Rajasthan, India, 72 km from Jaipur. Banasthali has developed into a national centre for women's education. It is one of the five universities in India exclusively for women...
in Rajasthan. In 1952, he along with his wife Leela, started an art training school in Mussoorie
Mussoorie
Mussoorie is a city and a municipal board in the Dehradun District of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is located about 35 km from the state capital of Dehradun and 290 km north from the national capital of New Delhi...
. In 1958, he returned to Kala Bhavan, and later became its principal. In 1979, a collection of his Bengali writings, Chitrakar was published.
Style
His style was a complex fusion of idioms absorbed from Western modern art and the spirituality of oriental traditions (both Indian and Far-Eastern). Some of his works show a marked influence of Far-Eastern traditions, namely calligraphyCalligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
and traditional wash techniques of China and Japan. He took lessons in calligraphy from travelling artists from Japan. During 1937-38 he spend his years in Japan with artist such as Toba Sojo
Toba Sojo
, also known as , was a Japanese astronomer, an artist-monk, and the son of Minamoto-no-Takakuni.Although he is frequently credited as the artist of the famous picture scroll Chōjū-giga, there is no conclusive proof of this claim.- References :...
. Similarly he also learnt from the Indian miniature painting in the frescoes of Mughal and Rajput periods. Idioms of Western modern art also bore heavily upon his style, as he is often seen to blend Cubist techniques (such as multi-perspective and faceting of planes) to solve problems of space. Above all, his style was celebrated and acclaimed because of the harmonious blend he achieved out of all these different traditions. His grand murals inside the Visva-Bharati campus are testimony to that. In 1948 he went to become director of National Museum of Kathmandu, in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. In the later years he went to Doon valley, where he started an art school but had to discontinue due the financial shortage.
In 1972 Mukherjee's former student at Santiniketan, filmmaker Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
, made a documentary film on him titled "The Inner Eye
The Inner Eye
The Inner Eye is a documentary film on the blind artist Binod Bihari Mukherjee by Satyajit Ray.-External links:*...
". The film is an intimate investigation of Mukherjee's creative persona and how he copes with his blindness being a visual artist.
Mukherjee's daughter Mrinalini is also an artist.http://www.saffronart.com/artistdetails.asp?sourceid=789.
Awards and honors
In 1974, he received the Padma VibhushanPadma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
award. He was conferred with the Deshikottama by the Visva Bharati University in 1977. He received the Rabindra Puraskar
Rabindra Puraskar
The Rabindra Puraskar or the Rabindra Smriti Puraskar is the highest honorary literary award given in the Indian state of West Bengal. This award is administered by the Government of West Bengal under the aegis of the Paschimbanga Bangla Academy , Kolkata.The award is given for creative...
in 1980.