Village Landscape

Bendre's fascination with landscapes sparked his artistic career in the 1930s and remained an important element of his oeuvre. After moving back to Bombay in the mid-sixties, he continued to travel around the country 'for satisfaction of his still persistent wanderlust.' (R. Chatterji, Bendre: The Painter and the Person, Canada, 1990, p. 59.) These trips allowed him to visit new places, thus providing him the inspiration for the landscapes.

Bendre experimented with his own version of Pointillism in the 1970s and 1980s and this work perfectly illustrates his vision. It combines the Pointillists' unique use of color and brushstroke with the simple yet distinctive exterior of an Indian temple, a common sight in any Indian village. Like the Pointillists' philosophy, emphasis is not on a naturalistic representation of the landscape, but on the depiction of a unique visual experience as seen through the eyes of the artist.