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拍品專文
My intention is to integrate the representational, the metaphysical, the suggestive and symbolic in two dimensional images in order to achieve inner satisfaction.
- K.K. Hebbar, 1990
K.K. Hebbar nurtured his childhood interest in art and honed his unique visual vocabulary during his studies, briefly at the Chamarajendra Technical Institute in Mysore, where he found the instruction to simply reproduce or imitate objects and nature oppressive, and then at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Bombay from 1937, where he was trained in Western academic and modern styles as well as Indian miniature painting traditions. Under the guidance of teachers like Charles Gerrard, who headed the school at the time, Hebbar came to the first important turning point of his career. As the artist recalled, Gerrard urged him to seek out an individual way of expressing his experiences and emotions, saying, “Recording the life around had better be left to the camera. You must look into the world rather than look at the world” (Artist statement, An Artist’s Quest, KK Hebbar, New Delhi, 1974, p. 6).
In 1946, Hebbar travelled to Kerala, observing the art, rituals and daily life of village communities there. These encounters, which he likened to Paul Gauguin’s engagement with Tahiti, encouraged a turn toward bold color and simplified form rooted in India’s folk and performing traditions. After Indian independence the following year, Hebbar travelled to Europe using money awarded to him by the Government of India. “I visited almost all the museums and art galleries studying the various trends in art from the Italian primitive painting to the contemporary movements [...] I admired Picasso’s unique method of distorting his figures, the strength of Matisse’s decorative lines, the rich and sonorous colour scheme of Braque and the evocative quality of Rouault’s paintings [...] I returned home much disturbed and to a certain extent confused [...] I was not prepared to be washed away by the currents dashing at me. Instead, I decided to start from where I had stopped and wanted to fuse into my works various aspects I had learnt from the West. This was a slow process” (Artist statement, An Artist’s Quest, KK Hebbar, New Delhi, 1974, pp. 8–9). While he absorbed aspects of European Impressionism from these visits, the artist retained his deep engagement with Indian classical and vernacular idioms, from the frescoes of the Ajanta caves to Mughal, Jain and Rajasthani miniatures.
Hebbar’s extensive training and appreciation for Western modernism afforded him the technical sophistication to become one of the leading modern masters of his generation. However, in terms of subject matter, he drew extensively from Indian visual culture and indigenous traditions, notably rural life, indigenous practices, performing traditions, community gatherings, music, theater and, of course, religious celebrations. Earthy and commonplace themes were transformed through linear rhythm, spatial harmony and expressive color into images of psychological depth and spiritual resonance. Hebbar painted Divali in 1967. Also known as Diwali or Deepavali, this is the five-day Hindu festival of lights that symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance, and is celebrated across South Asian traditions by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists. The festival occurs in early winter, and its date changes annually according to the Hindu lunisolar calendar.
In this painting, Hebbar cleverly creates a montage of scenes across three sections of the canvas. The right-hand side shows a domestic scene through a window, perhaps depicting Choti Diwali, when homes are decorated with lanterns, diyas and rangoli. On the far left, the artist portrays a village scene, with rooftops visible in the background and villagers who appear to be celebrating Lakshmi Puja, the main day of the festival, when families gather for prayers to the goddess Lakshmi, feast on sweets and light fireworks. The composition is anchored by a central panel featuring the traditional anar (pomegranate) firework, which sends out a fountain of multicolored sparks. This central display of fireworks simultaneously bisects and illuminates the entire painting, evoking a sense of pure joy and the celebration of the triumph of light over darkness.
It is interesting to note, that at the time the present lot was painted, Hebbar was also fascinated by and fearful of the apocalyptic implications of the Cold War. In 1967, global tensions were running high, with conflicts such as the Six-Day War taking place. Hebbar was similarly interested in the Space Race between the United States and the USSR, and 1967 saw fatal accidents in both the American and Soviet space programs. Perhaps this image of Divali, then, is a joyful reminder of light and hope from the artist, even in the darkest of times.
- K.K. Hebbar, 1990
K.K. Hebbar nurtured his childhood interest in art and honed his unique visual vocabulary during his studies, briefly at the Chamarajendra Technical Institute in Mysore, where he found the instruction to simply reproduce or imitate objects and nature oppressive, and then at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Bombay from 1937, where he was trained in Western academic and modern styles as well as Indian miniature painting traditions. Under the guidance of teachers like Charles Gerrard, who headed the school at the time, Hebbar came to the first important turning point of his career. As the artist recalled, Gerrard urged him to seek out an individual way of expressing his experiences and emotions, saying, “Recording the life around had better be left to the camera. You must look into the world rather than look at the world” (Artist statement, An Artist’s Quest, KK Hebbar, New Delhi, 1974, p. 6).
In 1946, Hebbar travelled to Kerala, observing the art, rituals and daily life of village communities there. These encounters, which he likened to Paul Gauguin’s engagement with Tahiti, encouraged a turn toward bold color and simplified form rooted in India’s folk and performing traditions. After Indian independence the following year, Hebbar travelled to Europe using money awarded to him by the Government of India. “I visited almost all the museums and art galleries studying the various trends in art from the Italian primitive painting to the contemporary movements [...] I admired Picasso’s unique method of distorting his figures, the strength of Matisse’s decorative lines, the rich and sonorous colour scheme of Braque and the evocative quality of Rouault’s paintings [...] I returned home much disturbed and to a certain extent confused [...] I was not prepared to be washed away by the currents dashing at me. Instead, I decided to start from where I had stopped and wanted to fuse into my works various aspects I had learnt from the West. This was a slow process” (Artist statement, An Artist’s Quest, KK Hebbar, New Delhi, 1974, pp. 8–9). While he absorbed aspects of European Impressionism from these visits, the artist retained his deep engagement with Indian classical and vernacular idioms, from the frescoes of the Ajanta caves to Mughal, Jain and Rajasthani miniatures.
Hebbar’s extensive training and appreciation for Western modernism afforded him the technical sophistication to become one of the leading modern masters of his generation. However, in terms of subject matter, he drew extensively from Indian visual culture and indigenous traditions, notably rural life, indigenous practices, performing traditions, community gatherings, music, theater and, of course, religious celebrations. Earthy and commonplace themes were transformed through linear rhythm, spatial harmony and expressive color into images of psychological depth and spiritual resonance. Hebbar painted Divali in 1967. Also known as Diwali or Deepavali, this is the five-day Hindu festival of lights that symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance, and is celebrated across South Asian traditions by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists. The festival occurs in early winter, and its date changes annually according to the Hindu lunisolar calendar.
In this painting, Hebbar cleverly creates a montage of scenes across three sections of the canvas. The right-hand side shows a domestic scene through a window, perhaps depicting Choti Diwali, when homes are decorated with lanterns, diyas and rangoli. On the far left, the artist portrays a village scene, with rooftops visible in the background and villagers who appear to be celebrating Lakshmi Puja, the main day of the festival, when families gather for prayers to the goddess Lakshmi, feast on sweets and light fireworks. The composition is anchored by a central panel featuring the traditional anar (pomegranate) firework, which sends out a fountain of multicolored sparks. This central display of fireworks simultaneously bisects and illuminates the entire painting, evoking a sense of pure joy and the celebration of the triumph of light over darkness.
It is interesting to note, that at the time the present lot was painted, Hebbar was also fascinated by and fearful of the apocalyptic implications of the Cold War. In 1967, global tensions were running high, with conflicts such as the Six-Day War taking place. Hebbar was similarly interested in the Space Race between the United States and the USSR, and 1967 saw fatal accidents in both the American and Soviet space programs. Perhaps this image of Divali, then, is a joyful reminder of light and hope from the artist, even in the darkest of times.