A Few Thoughts on a Couple of "Bisarjan" Paintings
Disclaimer: I have never been and never will be an art critic. These are just some thoughts I had. Also, this post has stewed in my head for about a month because procrastination. Some time ago, around the end of Durga Pujo, someone in my timeline shared this 1882 painting by George Gidley Palmer depicting the immersion of a Durga Idol in the river: And seeing it made me think of another famous 'Bisarjan' painting by Gaganendranath Tagore: And then I found another one by Tagore too, on the same subject: And while I lack the terminology or study to properly express this, had I not known anything about these paintings and had to pick which of these had been made by a Western artist and which ones by an Indian, especially by a Bengalee artist, I would have picked correctly. Palmer's painting has sharper lines, I think, but the overall impression for me is that of Marlow staring into the heart of darkness, at something essentially alien. It's a lovely painting, but to me,...