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Ganesh Pyne’s art is marked by a sense of gloom, drawn
from his own personal experiences with death. The focal
point of the present lot is a pale, ghostly bust at the base
of a dying tree trunk.
The Gardener
, referred to in the title,
is palpable by his absence. When Pyne paints subjects such
as “assassins, woodcutters, fishermen, gardeners, hunters…
He projects his men as a vanquished breed… It is quite
apparent, that the men Pyne portrays in his canvases
are often weighed down with… ‘a tragic sense of life’.”
(Shiladitya Sarkar,
Thirst of a Minstrel: The Life and Times of
Ganesh Pyne
, New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 2005, pp. 55‒56)
Pyne often used everyday objects “for the purpose of
hinting at the macabre or creating a philosophical mood.”
(Sarkar, pp. 63‒64) In the present lot, the artist depicts
elements of nature such as dry grass, barren tree trunks, and
a lone branch and leaf, heightened by mist and shadows, to
create a scene which suggests isolation and alienation.
56
56
GANESH PYNE
(1937 ‒ 2013)
The Gardener
Signed in Bengali and dated '2008' (lower right)
2008
Tempera on canvas
21 x 19.5 in (53.4 x 49.4 cm)
Rs 28,00,000 ‒ 38,00,000
$ 44,445 ‒ 60,320
PUBLISHED
Ranjit Hoskote,
Ganesh Pyne: A Pilgrim in the Dominion of
Shadows
, Mumbai: Galerie 88, 2005, p. 123
55
GANESH PYNE
(1937 ‒ 2013)
Untitled
Signed and dated in Bengali (lower left)
1955
Watercolour on paper
9.5 x 11.25 in (24.3 x 28.5 cm)
Rs 7,00,000 ‒ 9,00,000
$ 11,115 ‒ 14,290
PUBLISHED
Ranjit Hoskote,
Ganesh Pyne: A Pilgrim in the Dominion of
Shadows
, Mumbai: Galerie 88, 2005, p. 21
“Death, or the negation of life, has always haunted me.”
GANESH PYNE
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