Page 30 - Jehangir Sabavala - TheArtsTrust

A famed portrait of Sabavala
by Sooni Taraporevala in 2000

buildings. In these works and all the others to European, Venetian, Pagan,
come in this decade, one can notice both an Arabian and more. His series
acceptance of the current times and the havoc of nudes of the time displayed
that came with it—alongside the nostalgia for sensuality and devotion, while
beauty. His notion of the ideal sits next to the his ‘The Star That Beckons’ set of
actual, the idealisation depicted through the works feature saint-like figures that
geometry of his works. The crystalline nature traversed his scapes to acknowledge
of his works transformed pastoral scenes and the lone star. Light, in the form of
cityscapes into prisms, melding earth, air and the sun or a star, was an enduring
water into one, while keeping them distinct. motif. In fact, the light that Sabavala
His compositions do not conform to reality, so deftly employed also seemed
instead, reality is rearranged to suit his to rise from within the paintings,
imagined spaces, evidence of his classicism. breaking through the edges of the
This decade’s output, while indulgent, work to delineate the forms, creating
was also scrutinised by the artist himself, the illusion that they all flowed from
who always sought to add more nuance one another.
and unearth more revelations in his own
practice. In many works, he aimed to let The Solidification of Legacy
the public into his innermost thoughts Sabavala’s art is inextricable from the urge to look inward for inspiration socio-political realities, yet his work remains
and functions. Revisiting themes he landscape of modern Indian art, but it and the multiplicity of his being deeply Indian in its quiet spirituality and
was preoccupied with earlier, he took was his effort to make his art accessible are features that few artists share poetic grandeur. His disciplined brushwork
a novel approach to them. In his series and comprehensible to the general public in such a honed, disciplined and and mastery of colour and composition
titled ‘Casuarina Lines’, he made his that has created the most impact. He almost rigorous way. The acclaimed transformed everyday landscapes into sites
compositional process the focal point, was always keen on knowing what his artist passed away in 2011 after a of mystery and transcendence. His figures,
revealing it to his audience and steering audiences and art enthusiasts thought long battle with lung cancer. whether wandering monks or spectral
away from his traditional training. of his work, rejecting the alienation Sabavala’s legacy is one of travellers, evoke both the physical and
Other landscapes from this period were of viewers and aiming to translate his relentless artistic exploration. Over metaphysical journey... an endless pursuit
inspired by the travels of his youth in private meanings into public thought. His decades, he refined a visual syntax of meaning and belonging. Though often
India and Switzerland, West Asia and work in educating Indian viewers about that was uniquely his—one that labelled an outlier in Indian modernism,
Italy, transforming material existence art movements such as Cubism, and his married discipline with spontaneity, Jehangir Sabavala’s ability to create
into transcendence. unmoving stance in his artistic choices is form with emotion, and the personal deeply evocative, timeless works ensures
The role of humans in his works what make him the titan he is considered with the universal. His work resonates his place as a seminal figure in modern
remained more or less the same in today. Throughout his life, Sabavala remained not only for its technical brilliance but Indian art. His paintings continue
these years, working as the relayers a restless artist, something that enthusiasts also for the introspective depth it carries. to captivate audiences, offering a
of Sabavala’s legendarium, instead thank him for. His attempt to perfect, revisit, From his early fascination with Cubism to space for contemplation and wonder,
of acting as the centre of it. Hooded, reimagine, reinvent and then perfect again the ethereal, meditative landscapes of his much like the artist himself, who
mysterious women dressed in robes resulted in a vast array of thematic concerns, later years, his oeuvre reflects a painter’s spent his life searching for beauty
captured mid-ritual began to make motifs, protagonists and alluring vistas that lifelong dialogue with light, space, and the beyond the tangible.
their appearance. These paintings would not have been possible if it weren’t for unseen. Unlike many of his contemporaries,
pay homage to various cultures— his endless pursuit. His mastery of light, the Sabavala did not seek to overtly depict India’s ~ Kaavya Pillai

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