Chittaprosad Bhattacharya Profile: Delhi Art Gallery

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CHITTAPROSAD BHATTACHARYA
21/06/1915 - 13/11/1978

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BEGINNINGS

He was born in Naihati, North 24 Parganas District, West Bengal. Active participant of Communist Party of India. 1943,44 Drew first attention, by his powerful, sensitive, black and white drawings of Bengal famine, he reported the horror he witnessed. His drawings were published in the then Communist Party journals like ?Peoples War? and ?Janayudha?. His reports were also published in English as a pamphlet titled ?Hungry Bengal?, by the Peoples Publishing House, Bombay. 1946 He moved to Bombay to work for the Left Press. 1946 He did many works depicting the Telangana Peasents armed struggle against the Nizam?s tyrannical regime in Hyderabad. 1947 Destanced himself from the Communist Party. 1949 He immediately responded to the call of the World Peace Movement, and from that time on he contributed his art to the cause of peace. 1950 He rejuvenated the traditional puppet theatre by founding his own ?Khela Ghar?, where he introduced modern themes in traditional art forms and brough

EDUCATION

Basically a self-taught artist, it`s the village sculptors and the puppet-players who inspired him.

1932-36 Chittagong Govt. College, Bangladesh.

1960s Learnt the techinques of Czech puppetry from Mr. Frantisek Salaba, a Czech amateur puppeteer who lived in Bombay.

EXHIBITIONS

1956 His first major exhb. at Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Various Exhibitions in Denmark, Holland, Germany, Copenhagen, USA.

1979 Exhb. of his graphic art at the Fronta Gallery in Spalena Street in Prague, the organisers of this exhb. are the National Gallery in Prague, the Czechoslovak- Indian Section of the Czechoslovak Society for Foreign Relations and the Publishing House Mlada Fronta.

1980 Retrospective organised after his death, was the biggest of his exhb., Czechoslovakia.

1980 Exhb. at Calcutta Information Centre, organised by Chittaprosad Art Archive, Chittabharati, Calcutta and The Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Govt. of West Bengal.

1981 Largest exhb., featured his works acquired by Prague?s National Gallery, since 1956 with the help of the artist`s personal friends.

1992 Exhb. for organizing ?Chitta Bharati? and celebrating Chittaprosad?s birthday, The Centre Art Gallery and Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Calcutta.

1992 Exhb. of selected cartoons and drawings,

COLLECTION

Ebrahim Alkazi and Art Heritage, New Delhi.

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

Prague Museum of Art, Czechoslovakia.

Jane and Kito de Boer, Dubai.

Osian?s ? Archive and Library, India.

Goodricke Group Ltd., Kolkata and London.

Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi.

AWARDS

13th November, 1978 Chittaprosad Art Archieve, an institute of research on Chittaprasad?s life and works, was established, Chandi Ghosh Road, Calcutta.

4th December, 1978 Felicitation program was organized by ?Shilpayan?, Mime Academy, Calcutta.

1992 ?Chitta Bharati? organisation was organised in his honour.

STYLE

Chittaprosad was the leader of a distinct trend in the National Art Movement of India. He was an artist of the people- the great multitude of India; poverty ridden, exploited, and the victims of every possible circumstance, but of unbounded vitality, keepers of its unique cultural heritage with a legacy of hundreds of years of stoic survival against all odds. His works varied from time to time, responding to the subjects he was dealing with. The main theme of his works revolved around the society he was living in, infact he picturised the darker side of life, which seemed to be very expressionistic. His style is not blindly realistic; it has a folk feeling, as well as a complete affinity with the forms integral to the people.