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"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked." Mark Twain. Was there ever a country like India; a country where life finds its way into the art of the people and Indian life imitates the artistic outpourings of the national soul! A country of intense emotions and fierce passion that have inspired an aesthetic continuum of painting traditions, paintings reflecting the innate wisdom of an ancient diverse culture continually enriching itself by absorbing progressive waves of migrations that came in search of the famed riches of India in the fields of culture, philosophy, religion, education and material wealth. Migrations absorbed into the fabric of the Indian life, influenced by and influencing their host country resulting in a rich fusion of cultures.
Such an enduring tradition of inspiration continues to compel modern artists to imbue a lively exuberance and, permit the colour of their emotions to spill across canvases, whether stone, fabric or leaf; the old and the modern, each a manifestation of the Indian people's unique love affair with art and colour. A love affair that the Indian painters constantly echo in a reproduction of their inward vision, constant soul searching for elusive intangibles, an expression of physical and modern Indian humanity with the individual vision of India's modern artists. Second generation modern artists who having shed the complexities of a subject race no longer draw inspiration from the west or emulate it in a conscious attempt at acceptance by xenophobic art collectors labouring under a colonial attitude and mindset.
Modern artists of present-day India have shaken off complexes deliberately imposed on their country's culture and art by colonial rulers and, paint in the painting traditions of their ancestors in tandem with individually brilliant strokes of personal colour and vision. As modern artists of India evolve their own boldly confident style, the current century is witness to a creative surge in the field of Indian art and painting. Indian artists, painters and paintings have come of age as they let the soul of India shine through each masterful stroke of vibrant colour. Modern artists who finding a perfect medium between old and new, tradition versus modernity have caught the art world by storm and continually enrich the famous artist list with their names. Online auctions carry an impressive list of paintings done by famous artists, modern artists including impressionist artists who embellish the French style painting made famous by the likes of Degas, Manet, Monet, Cézanne, Pissaro et al with their distinctly Indian artistic heritage.
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As Indian modern artists and painters continue to smudge their canvas with vital strokes of colour from different ends of the colour spectrum, colours that jostle for space on the canvas of the Indian painters and Indian artists, vibrant colours that find a reflected shimmer in the luminous silk saris worn by the Indian women, vivid colours resplendent in their jewellery, intense colours that illuminate face and hands from henna paintings to bindis decorating foreheads. Colour that reflects the joyousness with which the Indians view and live their lives, colour that diminishes the harsh realities of life, colour that brightens the barren landscape of nature, nowhere more evident than in the stark barrenness of the Rajasthani landscape. The hot desert sands may shimmer in the heat but it is the colour intense attire of the men and women of Rajasthan that captures the eye. And, this colourful love affair spills across the canvas of each famous artist from India who finds himself in the famous artist list.
Holding true to ancient Indian treatises on the art of painting and aesthetics, these famous artists faithfully follow each laid down rule for quality craftsmanship, bold fluid lines, long sweeping brush strokes, graceful contours, subtle colour gradation, highlighting figures and facial features for a three-dimensional effect, famous artists and impressionist artists remain true to the painting traditions of India. Paintings imbued with character and human emotions showcasing the skill and understanding in canvas renditions of love, indignation, compassion, greed and other passions. Indeed, the inward soul searching, the merging with the universal soul has enabled these famous artists to put emotion on canvas in so skilful a way that the mural painting of The Dying Princess in Ajanta made British painter, John Griffiths exclaim: For pathos and sentiment and the unmistakeable way of telling its story, this picture cannot be surpassed in the history of art. Cave paintings that inspire the modern artists of India to paint with a vivid liveliness of colour, a refined sophistication of lines coupled with bold vigorousness, so distinctly Indian, only an Indian emoting his native sensibilities could render paintings worthy of a millennia of soul searching.
Humble painters of this great moment in the history of Indian art and Indian painting had a tremendous vision of compassionate humanity that overwhelms and enthrals, a blossoming of the Indian tradition of art whereby the ancient artists and painters made colours from the simple materials available in the hills surrounding the caves, ochre for yellows and reds, lamp soot for black, lime for white and the lapis lazuli of Afghanistan for the blues, often blending these simple colours to provide the subtle hues and tints, marvellous compositions of colour, perfection that continues to inspire generations of Indian artists and painters as reflected in their paintings, paintings avid Indian art collectors vie for their collections.
As Indian artists and painters enrich famous artist lists and online auctions, impressionist artists, Surya Prakash, Atul Dodiya and Bhupen Khakhar stand out. Prakash, an impressionist artist exhibited extensively within India and abroad is a famous artist who constantly experiments with new forms, colours and themes. His Pool of Life paintings is an unabashed homage to the Water Lilies of Monet, the fiery browns and reds inspired by his backyard as opposed to the cool blue-greens of Monet. Atul Dodiya, another famous artist, an impressionist artist has been influenced by Bhupen Khakhar, an internationally acclaimed famous artist rooted in the Indian tradition of painting jewel tones, a startlingly original combination of sexuality and spirituality much sought after by art collectors.
As Indian artists and painters make the famous artist list of the art world, rich Indians scour online auctions for a connection to the soul of India fuelling a demand for paintings by famous artists from India! These collectors of Indian artists and painters instinctively comprehend the soul outpourings of their countrymen, collectors who revel in themes of Indian mythology, modern Indian humanity, keeping alive the Indian love for fiery, intense, vibrantly joyous spills of rich colour from a colour spectrum uniquely Indian, the essence of India in a brilliant fusion of style, colour and technique!
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Famous Artists
