16 Facts About Jamini Roy

Jamini Roy was honoured by the Government of India the award of Padma Bhushan in 1954.

Jamini Roy remains one of the most famous pupils of Abanindranath Tagore, another praised Indian artist and instructor.

Jamini Roy was born on 11 April 1887 into a moderately prosperous Kayastha family of land-owners in Beliatore village of the Bankura district, West Bengal.

Jamini Roy was raised in an average middle-class, art loving household which ultimately influenced his future decisions.

Jamini Roy was taught to paint in the prevailing academic tradition drawing Classical nudes and painting in oils and in 1908 he received his Diploma in Fine Art.

Jamini Roy was most influenced by the Kalighat Pat, which was a style of art with bold sweeping brush-strokes.

Jamini Roy moved away from his earlier impressionist landscapes and portraits and between 1921 and 1924 began his first period of experimentation with the Santhal dance as his starting point.

Jamini Roy is described as an art machine because he produced 20,000 paintings in his lifetime which is about 10 paintings daily but made sure his artistic aims remained the same.

Jamini Roy always targeted to the ordinary middle class as the upholder of art however he was thronged by the rich.

Jamini Roy's underlying quest was threefold: to capture the essence of simplicity embodied in the life of the folk people; to make art accessible to a wider section of people; and to give Indian art its own identity.

Jamini Roy's paintings were put on exhibition for the first time in the British India Street of Calcutta in 1938.

Jamini Roy's work has been exhibited extensively in international exhibitions and can be found in many private and public collections such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Jamini Roy spent most of his life living and working in Calcutta.

Jamini Roy was survived by four sons and a daughter.

In 1929 while inaugurating Jamini Roy's exhibition sponsored by Mukul Dey at Calcutta, the then Statesman Editor Sir Alfred Watson said:.

You must judge for yourselves how far Mr Jamini Roy has been able to achieve the ends at which he is obviously aiming.