Patna Three Figures

Patna Three Figures is a painting by Binode Behari Mukherjee, created in 1957. The artwork is made using watercolour on paper. Measures 31 × 41 cm. It is signed indistinctly in Bengali near the centre. The work was listed as Lot 71 in Saffron Art’s Spring Online Auction of Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art and Antiquities held on 6–7 April 2022. Saffron Art records the work as a painting and identifies its provenance as Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi from where it was acquired by the consignor. The title suggests that the composition focuses on three figures and is connected with Patna. The work reflects Mukherjee’s interest in observing people and everyday surroundings. According to Saffron Art he initially drew people he saw and met around him and his artistic development gradually moved towards more elemental forms. His work gave importance to elements such as colour, line and texture rather than depending mainly on literary or mythological subjects. Mukherjee was trained at Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan under Nandalal Bose. Was deeply influenced by the artistic environment created there. He later developed a modern vocabulary that combined his understanding of Indian artistic traditions with a more individual approach to form and composition. His practice included mediums, including murals, watercolours, oil paintings, ink, crayons and graphic works. Patna Three Figures is particularly significant because it was created in 1957 the year in which Mukherjee became completely blind. Despite his deteriorating eyesight he continued to develop a language based on simplified forms and visual experience. The painting therefore belongs to a period in his artistic career and demonstrates his continued engagement with figurative subjects and watercolour, as a medium.