The painting is currently at a Private American Collection.
Location History:
The painting was created in the year 1910 in Bengal and was at a Private American Collection for a long time before veing up for auction at Sotheby's Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art Auctio.
Asit Kumar Haldar was an Indian artist of Bengali descent,he was from the Bengal School of Art and was an assistant to Rabindranath Tagore at Shanitniketan. He was one of the most renowned artist of the Bengal Renaissance. Haldar experimented with different styles of paintings before evolving his own like the lacit technique. He painted numerous series like Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam,History of India and The Life of the Buddha. Haldar used the wash technique,temperaand gouache,oil paints and even invented lacit technique. He also learned fresco by studying and copying the Ajanta,Bagh and Jogimar paintings. Haldar gained knowlege of precise fine line brushwork from Mughal,Rajput and Pahari miniature paintings.
"Buddha" is one of the most beautiful paintings from his series THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA. Haldar has depicted a deep seated spiritual moment in this painting,where Lord Buddha is sitting under the Bodhi tree in meditating position with beautiful halo glowing around his head representing enlightenment,inner peace and wisdom. Haldar has painted a very calm,tranquil expression of his face,eyes half-closed and elegant hand gestures and the attaining of the ultimate truth. There's a white lotus placed in his hand which is the symbol of Buddhism and represents spiritual awakening,purity,a clean conscious and freedom from worldly desires (the core teaching of Buddhism).
At the foot of the Buddha sits a humble follower,his head bowed down in respect and love and his hands touching the pious feet of Buddha. The moment shows his complete surrender,respect and faith for the enlightened master. The Bodhi tree spreads it's branches to give shade and cool to Buddha showing it's significance as this is the very tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment and gained the knowledge about the most ultimate truth.
Haldar has painted the lush green landscape,hills and the Bodhi tree so beautifully that the painting reflects utter peace and calmness. He has painted fine,delicate lines,used earthy tones and perfect blending of colour transition which are the key characteristics of the Bengal School of Art. Rather than depicting a highly dramactic scene Haldar opted for a simpler,calmer more realistic,spiritual and an emotionally deep scene. This painting celebrates humbleness,humility,inner awakening and compassion which makes the viewers work on the path of self-realization and peace.
Haldar was among the few modern masters who directly touched and studied the ancient wall paintings of Ajanta and Bagh. In his Buddha, that living lineage is unmistakable. The delicate hand gestures (mudras), the sweeping calligraphic lines, and the lyrical, flowing rhythm of the body are direct descendants of 5th-century Buddhist art. Haldar did not merely copy these forms; he internalized them, translating massive ancient frescoes into intimate, soul-stirring works on paper.
