This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2013/mar/20/ganesh-pyne

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Ganesh Pyne obituary Ganesh Pyne obituary
(6 months later)
The artist Ganesh Pyne, who has died aged 76, was an impressionable child during the chaotic, violent years preceding Indian independence and later came of age as a young man in Kolkata at a time of intellectual and political upheaval. These early years grounded Pyne's art in dark, unsettling images, drawn from mythology and dreams.The artist Ganesh Pyne, who has died aged 76, was an impressionable child during the chaotic, violent years preceding Indian independence and later came of age as a young man in Kolkata at a time of intellectual and political upheaval. These early years grounded Pyne's art in dark, unsettling images, drawn from mythology and dreams.
There is an oft-repeated story about Pyne's first experience of death. During the riots that shook Kolkata in 1946, nine-year-old Pyne was living with his family in a hospital after being evacuated from their home. One day, he came across a handcart of corpses on their way to the mortuary. The body on top was that of an old woman. Even as blood flowed out of her body, her necklace shone.There is an oft-repeated story about Pyne's first experience of death. During the riots that shook Kolkata in 1946, nine-year-old Pyne was living with his family in a hospital after being evacuated from their home. One day, he came across a handcart of corpses on their way to the mortuary. The body on top was that of an old woman. Even as blood flowed out of her body, her necklace shone.
In painting after painting by Pyne, skulls, skeletons, piercing arrows and phantasms indicate a vision of the world, that was, above all, tragic. Primary colours are rare in Pyne's universe. Instead, there are amber browns and ashy blues. Instead of precise blocks of colour, there are overlapping layers. Bodies often seem lit from within, as if they are burning from inside outwards.In painting after painting by Pyne, skulls, skeletons, piercing arrows and phantasms indicate a vision of the world, that was, above all, tragic. Primary colours are rare in Pyne's universe. Instead, there are amber browns and ashy blues. Instead of precise blocks of colour, there are overlapping layers. Bodies often seem lit from within, as if they are burning from inside outwards.
Pyne was born in Kolkata, into an elite family that had fallen on hard times. He grew up listening to his grandmother's folktales and credited her with "opening his third eye", the storehouse of imagination. After graduating from the Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata, in 1959, Pyne worked for a few years as an animator and contributed to advertising films. While this honed his skills as a draughtsman, for an artist who later became famous for his reclusive nature, it may not have been easy to work in the collaborative world of film-making. In 1963, Pyne quit his job and joined the Society of Contemporary Artists, an organisation of painters, sculptors and printmakers based in Kolkata, who supported each other and conducted classes and exhibitions.Pyne was born in Kolkata, into an elite family that had fallen on hard times. He grew up listening to his grandmother's folktales and credited her with "opening his third eye", the storehouse of imagination. After graduating from the Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata, in 1959, Pyne worked for a few years as an animator and contributed to advertising films. While this honed his skills as a draughtsman, for an artist who later became famous for his reclusive nature, it may not have been easy to work in the collaborative world of film-making. In 1963, Pyne quit his job and joined the Society of Contemporary Artists, an organisation of painters, sculptors and printmakers based in Kolkata, who supported each other and conducted classes and exhibitions.
Influences on Pyne's work included Abanindranath Tagore of the Bengal school of art, as well as Rembrandt and Paul Klee. The Bengal school was an artistic movement that had aligned itself with nationalist aspirations and created an aesthetic rooted in Indian artistic traditions, looking towards Mughal miniatures and traditional murals to develop a modern Indian art. While Pyne came from this tradition, his vision was much darker. Moving away from romantic and nationalist themes, he explored much more existential questions.Influences on Pyne's work included Abanindranath Tagore of the Bengal school of art, as well as Rembrandt and Paul Klee. The Bengal school was an artistic movement that had aligned itself with nationalist aspirations and created an aesthetic rooted in Indian artistic traditions, looking towards Mughal miniatures and traditional murals to develop a modern Indian art. While Pyne came from this tradition, his vision was much darker. Moving away from romantic and nationalist themes, he explored much more existential questions.
Pyne started with watercolours, moved on to gouache, and finally found his medium in tempera, a medium that was popular in 15th-century Europe. He became a master at layering light and dark to create the intense glows that rendered his images so enigmatic. In Pyne's hands, the medium and the technique combined to create a mood of distortion, a world of misshaped people and demonic animals.Pyne started with watercolours, moved on to gouache, and finally found his medium in tempera, a medium that was popular in 15th-century Europe. He became a master at layering light and dark to create the intense glows that rendered his images so enigmatic. In Pyne's hands, the medium and the technique combined to create a mood of distortion, a world of misshaped people and demonic animals.
Pyne was not prolific, producing nine or 10 works a year. Although he participated in the Paris Biennale in 1969 and other shows in Europe and north America, he shied away from solo shows and preferred not to explain his art. As if paralleling the movement from transparent to opaque in his medium, he also became increasingly averse to publicity.Pyne was not prolific, producing nine or 10 works a year. Although he participated in the Paris Biennale in 1969 and other shows in Europe and north America, he shied away from solo shows and preferred not to explain his art. As if paralleling the movement from transparent to opaque in his medium, he also became increasingly averse to publicity.
Towards the end of his life, Pyne painted a series depicting the characters of the Indian epic the Mahabharata. Instead of depicting the grand moments, Pyne chose to paint peripheral characters, such as the archer Ekalavya, who cut off his thumb to please his teacher, and the princess Amba who was reincarnated as a man so that she could take revenge on the warrior who kidnapped her. In a text that accompanied an exhibition of those paintings at the Cima Gallery in Kolkata in December 2010, Pyne wrote: "There is no happiness in the Mahabharata."Towards the end of his life, Pyne painted a series depicting the characters of the Indian epic the Mahabharata. Instead of depicting the grand moments, Pyne chose to paint peripheral characters, such as the archer Ekalavya, who cut off his thumb to please his teacher, and the princess Amba who was reincarnated as a man so that she could take revenge on the warrior who kidnapped her. In a text that accompanied an exhibition of those paintings at the Cima Gallery in Kolkata in December 2010, Pyne wrote: "There is no happiness in the Mahabharata."
The journalist and film-maker Pritish Nandy, who first met Pyne at his ramshackle home, remembered a slender man with notebooks full of drawings. "He radiated a mysterious quality," Nandy said. Later, as editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India, Nandy featured Pyne's work in the magazine as well as in art shows that he curated. Nandy added that he had recommended Pyne's paintings to the celebrated Indian painter MF Husain and when the Weekly asked Husain to name the best painter in India, Pyne, who was relatively marginal then, was his choice.The journalist and film-maker Pritish Nandy, who first met Pyne at his ramshackle home, remembered a slender man with notebooks full of drawings. "He radiated a mysterious quality," Nandy said. Later, as editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India, Nandy featured Pyne's work in the magazine as well as in art shows that he curated. Nandy added that he had recommended Pyne's paintings to the celebrated Indian painter MF Husain and when the Weekly asked Husain to name the best painter in India, Pyne, who was relatively marginal then, was his choice.
"His paintings have a meticulous narrative quality and come from an extraordinary imagination. They are not evocative of life. They are taken from the dark innards of his imagination," Nandy said. But the man himself, he added, was "exactly the opposite. Gentle and quiet.""His paintings have a meticulous narrative quality and come from an extraordinary imagination. They are not evocative of life. They are taken from the dark innards of his imagination," Nandy said. But the man himself, he added, was "exactly the opposite. Gentle and quiet."
Ganesh Pyne is survived by his wife and son.Ganesh Pyne is survived by his wife and son.
• Ganesh Pyne, artist, born 11 June 1937; died 12 March 2013• Ganesh Pyne, artist, born 11 June 1937; died 12 March 2013
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.