Ramkinkar Baij (26 May 1906 – 2 August 1980)

We are concerned with life and death, cruelty and deformity, beauty and joy, and the aesthetic forms and values arise from these, based as they are on the perception of cosmic reality. We all pursue the same path, maybe each in his own way…. Ramkinkar Baij

Born in Bankura in West Bengal in 1906, Ramkinkar Baij studied at the Kala Bhavan, Vishwa Bharati University, Santiniketan in 1925. He disregarded norms and artistic standards of the University and  worked in a more spontaneous manner. A brief introduction to clay modeling by a visiting French sculptor was enough to capture Baij’s creativity. Groomed by his mentors, Nandalal Bose and Tagore, the clay modeler turned artist. The lack of academic training resulted in unique, individualistic works and an innovative way of engaging with the medium.

Energy and exuberance are typical of Ramkinkar’s paintings and monumental sculptures. He has gained immense popularity in modern Indian art for ignoring convention and developing an unusual expression; he is also amongst the earliest artists of Shantiniketan to start using oil paint. He always said that he didn’t know whether what he was doing was modern or not but it was based upon his experiences. Baij was responsible in making sculpture modern by giving to it coarse grain, a rhythmic quality and intense realism. Baij’s father was a village barber and his journey into the world of art began with making drop curtains for the local theatre and painting pictures of his family and friends. Ramananda Chatterjee, the editor of Modern Review and Prabasi was impressed with the posters that Baij had painted of the nationalist leaders during the Non-cooperation movement and he advised Baij to study art under Nandalal Bose and Abanindranath Tagore at Shantiniketan.

He was the earliest artist in Santiniketan to experiment with abstract, modern sculptural forms. He introduced cement concrete casting as an alternative to expensive plaster. He was extremely innovative -he used Santhal wraps with packet colours thinned with linseed oil to create his oil paintings, and drew his figures on silk with a shoe brush. Working at a time when traditional art was transitioning to modern art, Baij’s work proved to be crucial to Indian art history. Later, he headed the Department of Sculpture at the Kala Bhavan.

Baij was inspired by real life figures, and his drawings, sculptures and paintings reflected his bold realism and spontaneity as seen particularly in his sequence of watercolour nudes. He integrated elements of Santhal tribal art and life into his own work and enhanced them by an understanding of Western expressionism that was gleaned from books at the library of the Kala Bhavan.

 The first truly ‘modern’ Indian sculptor, Baij, believed that it is only momentum that creates tension in a work of art. His sculptures were monumental, yet possessed an inner movement.

In a reply to a basic question : How did the artist convey this most elusive of powers?

Ramkinkar replied: One would not suggest that these powers could be implanted from outside. A man is either born with them or has no means of achieving them. A teacher can only stimulate and help growth when the plants are already there.

In the year 1979, he attained the ‘Doctor of Letters Award’ from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. 1977 saw his as the winner of ‘Deshikottam Award’; this was also bestowed upon him by ViswaBharti, Santiniketan. In the year 1970, he was honored with the Civilian award Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

His works talk about people, places and things as he focuses on rural treasures and the stocky and robust Santhals, the original inhabitants of the land. He talks about a society free from technological invasion and one where Nature dominates the pulse of life. We get to see wallowing buffaloes in mud-pools, harvesters threshing corn with an easy charm, or a Santhal family relaxing on a cot, in his watercolours. Every nook and corner of Santiniketan provided him subjects of pastoral innocence, evoking in us a strong sense of belonging that the artist had.

Ramkinkar Baij (26 May 1906 – 2 August 1980).