Jamini Roy was one of the most important painters of the 20th century. His work showed what Bengali folk art was really about. He liked to call himself a patua, and his style and choice of subjects were influenced by traditional Indian folk and village art, especially that from Bengal. He started painting when he was young, when he became a student of the famous painter Abanindranath Tagore. Tagore taught him the finer points of art, which he later put to use on his canvas. He was different from other painters of his time because he went against what art schools taught about modernity and instead looked to Indian roots, traditions, and culture for ideas. Over time, he came up with his own amazing style that was similar to the art found in the street paintings of Kalighat. All of his paintings were proud of their rhythmic lines, clean patterns, bright earthy colors, and themes that were boldly simple. Roy was not only the one who made art available to everyone but also the one who showed the true identity of Indian art, which was not influenced by western ideas and practices.
Early years and childhood
On April 11, 1887, Jamini Roy was born into a wealthy family of zamindars in the village of Beliatore, Bankura district, undivided Bengal. His father was a zamindar and his grandfather was a zamindar.
The village, which had a long history of folk art, helped this young artist figure out what he wanted to do with his life.
At age 16, he moved to Calcutta to study at the Government College of Art, where Abanindranath Tagore, the man who started the Bengal school, was Vice-Principal. in
With the help of Tagore, he learned the basics of fine arts. He stuck to the long-standing academic tradition of learning to draw classical figures and paint with oil. In 1908, after five years of study, he got his Diploma in Fine Arts.
Jamini Roy’s Career
When he first started painting, the unique style of the Bengal school had a big impact on him. He used to be a post-impressionist painter who painted landscapes and portraits, but he was very unhappy with his work because he thought it was dull, boring, and uninspiring.
He went in a different direction from what most young artists did at the time, which was to paint scenes of western life. He wanted to find his own style and passion.
He found his true calling while walking through the streets of rural Bengal and looking at the popular bazaar paintings for sale outside the Kalighat temple in Calcutta. He felt like he had a lot in common with this style of art, which used big, sweeping brush strokes to show Indian culture.
He moved away from his earlier impressionist paintings and became interested in folk art and real Indian culture. Even though it was rebellious, the move satisfied his desire to paint and helped him get in touch with his inner artist.
In the 1930s, he started his successful career as a painter. He stopped using expensive canvases and instead used local materials and regular painting surfaces for his work, which he did for most of the 1960s.
Instead of using expensive canvases and oil paints, he started using bright colors that brought out the theme of local folk painting. His main goal was to capture the simple way of life of the folk people and show that on canvas.
Back then, art was an expensive way to express yourself, so his use of cheap materials and things was revolutionary in more ways than one. His style not only made art more accessible to everyone but also focused on showing the true identity of Indian art, which was not influenced by western ideas and customs.
Most of the time, he used the seven bright and hopeful colors that best described India, such red, yellow ochre, cadmium green, vermillion, grey, blue, and white. Most of these colors come from the earthy or mineral family.
He got ideas from the ordinary men and women in the village, and he chose to re-create on canvas well-known religious images from the Ramayana, Krishna Lila, Chaitanya, and Jesus Christ. He painted different poses and looks of Cathal dancers, blacksmiths working in the field, and so on.
His paintings were shown for the first time in 1938 in Calcutta’s British India Street. By going against the usual rules of painting, he became known for his unique art style, which grew in popularity and was seen as the best by both Indians and Europeans, who were his main customers.
In 1946, his art was shown in London, and in 1953, it was shown in New York City, USA. Today, many of his paintings are shown at international shows and can be found in private and public collections all over the world, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
His style was unique because he used neat patterns and rhythmic outlining to make sophisticated art that had nothing “modern” about it. His paintings showed how well he could use a brush and how he didn’t like art school’s modern ideas, so they showed the real Bengali folk art tradition.
Some of his famous works include Cats Plus, Cats Sharing a Prawn, Crucifixion with Attendant Angels, Krishna and Balarama, Krishna and Radha Dancing, Krishna with Gopis in Boat, Makara, Queen on Tiger, Ravana, Sita and Jatayu, Santal Boy with Drum, Seated Woman in Sari, St. Ann, and the Blessed Virgin, Vaishnavas, Virgin And Child, Warrior King and Mother and the child.
Awards & Achievements
In 1934, he was given the Viceroy’s gold medal for one of his works at an all-Indian exhibition.
In 1954, he was conferred with India’s third-highest civilian award, the prestigious Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.
Following year, he was made the first Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi, the highest honor in fine arts conferred by the Lalit Kala Akademi, India’s National Academy of Art, Government of India.
In 1976, the Government of India’s Ministry of Culture, Archaeological Survey of India, said that his work was one of the “Nine Masters” whose work was considered an “art treasure.”
Personal History and Legacies
Not much is known about his personal life and marriage except for the fact that he was blessed with four sons and one daughter.
On April 24, 1972, he took his last breath.
Even though Jamini Roy has been dead for a long time, his paintings still show how successful he was as a first-generation painter who gave up on modernity and adopted the nostalgic, lyrical style of Bengali folk painters. His paintings are in both public and private collections all over the world.
His home, which he still lives in, is in the Ballygunge Place neighborhood of Kolkata. His successors, children, grandchildren, and daughters-in-law now live there.
Estimated Net worth
Jamini is one of the wealthiest Painters and is on the list of the most well-known Painter. Based on what we found on Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Jamini Roy has a net worth of about $1.5 million.
Trivia
He was one of Abanindranath Tagore’s most well-known students. Tagore is still making important contributions to modern art. Like his teacher, he gave up on modernism and turned to the art of Kalighat street in Calcutta.