Mahiyari
Description
In the year 1935, the 44th Annual Art Exhibition of the Bombay Art Society was held at the Town Hall (Asiatic Society) Bombay and in this exhibition, ‘Mahiyari’, won the Society’s prestigious gold medal of the year to the artist. It depicts a Rajasthani woman resting by her pot of water or curd. It is carried out with a bold cubist touch in the bright colours. The face is exquisitely executed and a light but soft background of sunlit buildings sets off the graceful figure.
Solegaonkar joined Sir J. J. School of Art directly in the fourth year in 1930 and passed the Diploma Examination in Drawing and Painting in 1932, winning the Dolly Cursetji Prize twice during this period. He also worked in the then popular Bombay Revivalist Style under the guidance of the artist J. M. Ahivasi using opaque watercolours inspired by the colouring technique of Indian miniatures. During his professional life, Solegaonkar was deeply impressed by the exotic nature of the Ajanta frescoes and believed that the colours used must have belonged to the immediate environment. He made a point of collecting natural materials available around Ajanta such as coloured mud, stones, leaves, and flowers to produce similar colours. His paintings looked unique because he put in a lot of effort to prepare colours.
Collection
Indian Paintings
Artist
Govind Madhav Solegaonkar (1912-1986)
Object Type
Oil Painting
Material
Oil on Canvas
Schools/Culture/Period
Bombay School
Technique
Oil painting, Cubism
Date
1935
Location
Mumbai
Dimension
63.4 x 63.4 cms.