Description:

BIRESHWAR SEN (1897-1974) "LANDSCAPE"

Watercolour on Card
6.5 x 5 inches

Ref: Christie’s London South Asian Modern and Contemporary art sale dated 20th March
2013, Lot #70

Provenance: From a prominent British Bengali family

Bireswar Sen, a virtuoso of the miniature landscape genre, is renowned for his extraordinary
ability to encapsulate the vast expanse of the Himalayas and its deep valleys within
diminutive canvases.
Born in Calcutta to Rai Bahadur Saileswar Sen, a distinguished literature professor at
Calcutta University, Sen embarked on his artistic journey in 1917 at the Indian Society of
Oriental Art under the tutelage of luminaries like Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose.
Concurrently, he pursued a Master's degree in English literature from Presidency College,
Calcutta, culminating in his appointment as an English lecturer at B. N. College, Patna, in
1923.
Among the select few gifted disciples of Tagore, Sen remained tethered to his artistic
pursuits while drawing inspiration from Japanese luminaries Taikan and Kampo Arai.
Interestingly, his deep-seated passion for painting coexisted harmoniously with his fervent
engagement with English literature.
However, a pivotal encounter in 1932 with the Russian painter and philosopher Nicholas
Roerich would reshape Sen's artistic trajectory. Under Roerich's influence, Sen ventured into
the realm of Himalayan landscapes, albeit within the confines of a miniature format. This
marked a transformative phase in Indian painting, where Sen, through his meticulous
brushwork, breathed life into the grandeur of the Himalayas within the modest dimensions
of a matchbox. Remarkably, these miniature landscapes, while confined spatially, avoided
any sense of overcrowding. Sen's approach didn't seek to replicate nature; rather, he
believed that the artist's role was to imbue nature with "what it does not possess: the mind
and soul of man."

Bireswar Sen's masterpieces grace the walls of museums and find homes in private
collections, a testament to his indelible contribution to the world of art. His legacy endures,
even after his passing on September 10, 1974

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November 13, 2023 1:00 PM GMT
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