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Jamini Roy
Accession No . 3154
Artist Name. Jamini Roy
Title. Five Gopinis
Medium. Tempera on cloth
Size. 107 x 41.5 cm
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This painting is an evocative image of a rural community. Jamini Roy represented beautifully the followers of Krishna or Vaishnavas either as making offerings to the lord or on the way to a temple in a procession or going around villages singing kirtans (devotional songs) on the life of Krishna, and seeking alms. It is interesting to see how Roy broke down the figure to the essential form that goes into its making and then synthesised it to suggest a structure. Jamini Roy drew imagery that was authentic using simplification of form inspired by the folk arts of the region that had evolved over the centuries. In this particular painting the artist has depicted five Gopinis (milkmaids or village belles) with offerings in their hands on their way to a temple. Their reverential procession in the backdrop of an idyllic pastoral scene suggested by the stylised trees is the artist's imagination of a rural utopia where faith, religion and spirituality create an organic wholeness in life.
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