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Jamini Roy
Accession No . 3246
Artist Name. Jamini Roy
Title. Mother and Child
Medium. Tempera on canvas
Size. 36 x 73.5 cm
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It was probably around 1919 or 1920 that Jamini Roy moved away gradually from European naturalism in search of his own idiom. The Mother and Child image emerged as one of the favourite themes of Roy and here he evokes the mother's protective tenderness towards her child with great sensitivity.There are infinite variations of the mother and child figures. It is difficult to gauge at this distance of time what thoughts led him to experiment with this theme. One wonders whether the subject had an emotional charge for him. Were his experiments with the theme an outcome of Bengal's obsession with mother worship? Or was it just an interesting juxtaposition of forms which helped the possibility of endless explorations? This painting shows the mother holding the child in her arms. That they probably belonged to the Vaishnavite sect is indicated by the religious markings on the forehead of the child. The artist has adopted the tribhanga or the bent axis from the traditional iconography in the representation of the figure of the mother. The innocence of the figures is suggestive in their humble demeanour and the stimulating almond eyes of both the mother and child. There is also a hint of landscape in the form of stylised plants and floral motifs that add to the charm of the painting.
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