Minstrel and Two Ascetics

Currently not on view

Minstrel and Two Ascetics

c. 1945

Jamini Roy (Indian, 1887–1972)

Roy’s abstracted figuration recalls, if only coincidentally, the primitivist aesthetic cultivated by Paul Klee. While Klee looked to the arts of Africa and Oceania in his quest to uncover a more authentic artistic voice, Roy drew from the living folk painting traditions of his home region of Bengal to construct a vocabulary of simplified forms in bold, flat colors that would counter the European academic realism favored by India’s wealthy, urban elite. He also cultivated a collaborative studio environment evocative of traditional artists’ workshops in India.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Minstrel and Two Ascetics

Date:

c. 1945

Artist:

Jamini Roy (Indian, 1887–1972)

Medium:

Opaque watercolor on board

Dimensions:

Image: 18 13/16 × 14 inches (47.8 × 35.6 cm) Sheet: 20 1/4 × 15 5/8 inches (51.4 × 39.7 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994

Accession Number:

1994-148-541

Geography:

Made in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata), West Bengal, Bengal Region, India, Asia

Context:

Period: Modern Period

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Currently not on view