• NGMA India

    Jamini Roy

    Accession No . 3112 Artist Name. Jamini Roy Title. Christ Medium. Tempera on paper Size. 16.5 x 26.5 cm

    ×
    The series of images depicting the life of Jesus Christ is perhaps one of the boldest experiments in figuration and narrativisation by Jamini Roy. The language of the Christ paintings is remarkable for their grave, contemplative faces in somewhat hieratic poses with iconicity. In this particular painting, the artist has depicted the figure of Christ in a frontal stance with thick black lines along the contours. The sense of sacrality is heightened by the way his figure is framed by architectural elements and ornamentation unique to the folk arts of the region. Jamini Roy narrated episodes from Christian mythology in a way that could communicate itself easily to the ordinary Bengali villager.