Lot 6

Oil portraiture was introduced in India in the late 18th Century by European artists. From painting portraits of Company oficials, these artists made their way into the princely courts of India. Soon the fashion for having one's portrait painted spread from the landed gentry to the rising elite of Calcutta and Bombay. Portraiture was soon adopted by Indian painters and taught at art schools established by the British. During the first quarter of the 20th Century several painters from the J.J. School of Art achieved prominence through their naturalistic portraits of well-known members of Indian society.

Antonio Xavier Trindade (1870-1935)

Portrait of a Gentleman

Details

Antonio Xavier Trindade (1870-1935)
Portrait of a Gentleman
signed and dated 'A.X. Trindade 1931' (lower right)
oil on canvas
25¾ x 20½ in. (65.5 x 52 cm.)

Lot Essay

A.X. Trindade was amongst Bombay's leading portrait painters. In 1899 he won the coveted Mayo Silver Medal for merit in art. In 1920 he won the Gold Medal of the Bombay Art Society. The Governor's prize, which was second to the Bombay Art Society Prize, was won by the artist in 1929 and 1931.

The depth of psychological perception and the purity of tones found in Trindade's oil paintings prompted one contemporary writer to dub him 'the Rembrandt of the East'.

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