Page 317 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

314 ART AND CRAFTS

surpassed Jamini Roy. Consequentially he declared to many people: ‘Quamrul Hassan
begins where Jamini Roy ends.’ 110 [Trans.] We will determine the significance of this
statement later. In the context of Nandalal Bose it can be said that differences between
the ideals of art of the two artists are abundant; however it is possible to discover some
similarities between the two artists in the style Nandalal expressed in his series painted
for the Haripura Conference of the Congress (1937) which may be said to have some
affinity with Quamrul’s work. In the Harpura series Nandalal Bose’s search was for the
folk art of Bengal and lifestyle of rural households. The similar qualities between the
two artists are clearly understandable when the work titled Mother and Child of this
series (pl. 1.6) and Quamrul Hassan’s work under the same title (pl. 8.10), done in
tempera in the 50s, are seen together.
Thirdly, Quamrul Hassan’s devotion for folk art reached maturity after his
appointment in the Design Centre. Quamrul was greatly moved by Zainul’s statement
in favor of folk art after returning from Europe in the beginning of the 50s and this
brought some changes in his own art style. The famous painting under the title Tin
Kanya (Three women) (Oil painting, 1955) is an excellent example of this (pl. 8.12).
After he joined Design Center he had ample opportunities to observe folk art and
cottage industry extensively, understand the characteristics of these works and get to
know the artists closely. As a result, he not only helped in the development of folk art
of the country, but also enriched his own works with qualities of folk art. In this
manner, various motifs and language of folk art became an important aspect of his
art. The form of folk dolls, fish and birds painted on Saher Handi (painted pots) of
Rajshahi, animals representing evil forces such as - owls, foxes, snakes, crocodiles,
lizards, vultures etc. crowded his canvas along with harmless animals like peacocks,
cocks, cows, horses, elephants, cats, storks etc. (fig. 3.9)
When we look at these three points as sources of Quamrul Hassan’s art and thus
attempt to analyze his love for tradition, we discover that although he borrowed
thematic and stylistic elements from folk art, his paintings are not overpowered by
folk art. He did not forget that he is a modern painter, and not a folk artist. As a result,
attributes of modern western art are presented equally with qualities and elements of
folk art in his work. He has attained originality by mixing the two trends in an
unprecedented manner.
Although he borrowed the two-dimensionality of pata paintings of folk art in his
work, he also attempted to give the quality of three-dimensionality in it. Instead of
using mixed colors, in most of his paintings he used primary colors like pata painters.
Sometimes he applied flat color without creating tonal variations – like folk artists.
However, he has attempted to create color perspective by using various colors in one
plane, so that a sense of distance, or height and width, is created in the image. This
was done in the manner of modern western artists, especially Henri Matisse (1869-
1954) and this helped him create three-dimensionality in his art.