Kanchanjungha

Kanchanjungha is a landscape painting by Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury depicting the Himalayan mountain range as seen from Darjeeling. The painting focuses on the distinctive five-peaked mountain and the atmospheric landscape surrounding it. Upendrakishore pays particular attention to changing light, clouds and perspective, translating his direct engagement with the Darjeeling landscape into a painted composition. The surviving reproduction shows his interest in representing the mountain not simply as a geographical landmark but as an imposing presence within the surrounding landscape. The work is also important for understanding Upendrakishore as a painter rather than only as an illustrator and printing pioneer. Anandabazar records that during his travels he painted using watercolour and oil, and specifically names Kanchanjungha and Chunar Durga as two of his famous travel paintings. A contemporary recollection by his son Subimal Ray describes Upendrakishore painting during family trips to Darjeeling, stepping back from the work to assess it and then returning to add lines and brushwork. The painting has an especially interesting connection with Satyajit Ray. Accounts of Satyajit's childhood state that a coloured painting of Kanchanjungha by his grandfather hung on the wall of the Ray family's house at 100 Garpar Road, Kolkata. When Satyajit visited Darjeeling as a child, he compared the mountain he saw in reality with the one represented in his grandfather's painting and recognised that Upendrakishore had captured Kanchanjungha in sunset light.