Page 12 - Jehangir Sabavala - TheArtsTrust
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of joyous colours—as inspirations   the week, the teacher was not one for formal
                                                                                                                                          in his work. Throughout his artistic   lectures. He would encourage his students to
                                                                                                                                          career, Sabavala continued to count   master the technical so they could push the
                                                                                                                                          his time with Lhote as one of the    limits of art with their imagination. He would
                                                                                                                                          most transformative.                 then have the students display their works at
                                                                                                                                               Prior to his study of the exacting   the end of the week, and walk through them,
                                                                                                                                          nature of Cubism, Sabavala created    critiquing them. In fact, acclaimed modern
                                                                                                                                          a number of self-portraits, looking    Indian artists Ram Kumar, Paritosh Sen and
                                                                                                                                          inward for inspiration and giving free   Nirode Mazumdar also studied under him.
                                                                                                                                          rein to his romanticism. His works of the    Sabavala then moved on to create
                                                                                                                                          time display a certain honesty and much   portraits  of  women,  deeply  inspired  by
                                                                                                                                          of the flair of his personage. Nudes, still-  Villon, Gris and Lhote himself, which
                                                                                                                                          lifes and portraits populated his oeuvre of   showcased  his  penchant  for  colour  and
                                                                                                                                          the time. The ‘Reclining Nude’ is evidence   the  abandon  in  their  usage.  ‘Nanette’
                                                                                                                                          of his mastery in conveying emotion.      is one such portrait, executed using
                                                                                                                                               While Lhote was initially unwilling to   charcoal on paper. Amongst the myriad
                                                                                                                                          admit Sabavala into his academy, the latter   portraits he created, the portraits of his
                                                                                                                                          won him over. He was thus able to infuse his   wife Shirin, whom he married in 1948,
                                                                                                                                          training in Impressionist paintings into the   stand out. Richard Lannoy recalled
                                      A group photograph at Academie Julian, Paris, with Sabavala                                         Cubist practice he learnt from Lhote, which   Sabavala’s works of this time, saying
                                      (fifth from the right) and Madame Beldent, the director (seated) in 1949                            transformed different planes and celebrated   that although the artist’s mind
                                                                                                                                          unity in the contradictory. Although Lhote’s   worked swiftly, his skill with the
                                                                                                                                          courses were strictly designed with a model   oil  medium  lagged  behind.  While
                                                                                                                                          set-up for the students at the beginning of    Sabavala absorbed the immensely

                                     Sabavala  soon  realised  that  his  love   by the works of Titian and
                                for art endured and that led him to enrol at   Veronese at the Venetian School’s
                                the famed Heatherley School of Fine Art,       National Gallery. Their command
                                                                                                                                                                                             Sabavala at work in Antibes,
                                London, in the same year. It was an ideal     over colour and glazes would show                                                                                          France, in 1948
                                learning environment for Sabavala, with its   up in his works as well.
                                collective  of  visiting  professors  and  their   After  graduating  in  1947,
                                encouragement of stylistic experimentation.   Sabavala made his way to Paris,
                                During  this  time,  he  also  met  Richard   France,  where  he  joined  Academie
                                Lannoy, who would go on to become not       Julian and Academie Lhote. He would
                                only a friend for life but also an established   later also join Academie de la Grande
                                writer, artist and photographer himself.   Chaumiere, where he continued to
                                He also met Shirin Dastur, whom he        perfect his technique. Shuffling between
                                would later marry. During his time at     these institutions, this was a time of
                                Heatherley,  the  artist  was  known  for   immense learning and intensive studying
                                being extremely proficient in technique   for the artist. At Academie Julian, he
                                and for being self-critical.            was trained in the art of Impressionist
                                     This constant critical analysis    paintings, while at Atelier Lhote, he learned
                                helped evolve his artworks throughout   the art of Cubism, a revolutionary style for
                                his  career.  Among    his  many       the time. (André Lhote himself had been a
                                inspirations of the time, the most    student of Spanish Cubist master Juan Gris.)
                                notable were the El Greco paintings   Sabavala,  impacted  by  the  interplay  of  light
                                he saw in Spanish galleries as       and structure present in Cubism, would count
                                they amalgamated mysticism and       Gris’ distinct colours and aloof temperament—
                                sensuality. He was also fascinated   as well as his contemporary Jacques Villon’s use




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