Satyendranath Bandopaddhaya was an ace artist of the Neo-Bengal school of art. He was born in 1896.
Satyendranath was an introspective artist. He had been inextricably linked with the world of paintings for a long time. He was a phenomenal artist and produced several students who in turn glorified the world of part and paintings. It will not be an exaggeration to say that he gave a new dimension to the art of painting. But he was against propaganda and was even averse to arranging an exhibition of his own paintings.
The first solo exhibition of Satyendranath took place in Calcutta in 1960. It was organized by ‘Kalabharati’ and the venue was Academy of Fine Arts. He was then sixty four years old. Unfortunately, much effort has not been made after this to highlight his works for public interests. Sadly, Calcutta has not taken any worthwhile initiative to display the works of this quintessential artist even after his demise. But his controbution to the cause of art is indeed immense.
In order to comprehend the gravity and uniqueness of Satyendranath’s works, we must remember the preliminary stages of Indian art. Satyendranath was born in 1896 in the village Chuamasina of Bankura district. Modern art in India also evolved during that period. Earlier in 1895, Abanindranath had given rise to an exclusive and indigenous form of painting which was shorn off all occidental touches. It was named ‘Radha Krishna Chitramala’ (series of paintings based on Lord Krishna and his beloved Radha) which was essentially Indian in essence. In 1896, E.B. Havel arrived in Calcutta and on 6th July, he accepted the poet of the principal of the Art School. That was a landmark in the history of art and paintings in Calcutta. In 1897, he got introduced to Abanindranath. Their union was of historical importance in the spread and development of Neo-Bengal art form. In the formative years, the Art School in Calcutta was instrumental in performing as the breeding ground of this new form of art. From 1932 to 1952, Satyendranath was employed as a teacher of Indian ‘gharana’ of art in the Art School. He had a very intimate relationship with the ‘Thakur Bari’ (House of Tagore/Thakurs) of Jorasanko. In this regard, he was trained and initiated by Abanindranath. However, his real teacher in the domain of art was none other than the legendary Nandalal Basu. He was admitted in the ‘Brahmacharyashram’ at Shantiniketan. (Ashram means hermitage. Brahmacharyashram is the hermitage where rigorous discipline is observed and celibacy is practiced). Three years later, he abandoned Shantiniketan and came to Calcutta to pursue his studies. In 1921, Nandalal joined ‘Kala Bhavan’ as a permanent teacher. Satyendranath joined soon as a student of the illustrious master.
The Neo-Bengal school of art has several streams or branches. They can be broadly classified into two divisions. One is the tendency to rejuvenate the Dhrupadi classical Indian style or technique of painting. In this respect, the strong religious influence of mythologies and Hinduism is very conspicuous. Both Abanindranath and Nandalal had initially started with this religious formula. Gradually, they drifted away from this formula and started adopting the style, technique and content from other Asian countries. They also started to acquire and adopt from the rich folk culture of Bengal. This was the second stream or division as mentioned earlier. Satyendranath’s art belongs to the first category of painting. He used to select his topics from the Hindu mythologies and epics. When it came to style, he has sincerely followed the classical Indian elements. At times, he has even relied on the miniatures of the Middle Ages in sketching the background and fundamentals of certain paintings. While selecting the theme of paintings, at times, he has critically studied the everyday lives of the commonality. After this, he gave expression to the joys and woes, success and failures of the average Bengali through his exquisite paintings. Again, at other times, he has been a profound philosopher and drawn nourishment from the bosom of nature. The sights and sounds of nature have fascinated him and he has keenly felt the all pervading presence of that inscrutable Supreme Being in the elemental forces of nature. His paintings are a feast for the eyes. They are graceful, supple and sentient. A salient feature of his paintings is a balanced, appropriate and elegant use of colours which emit an unprecedented brilliance.
His paintings also reveal a subtle spiritual hue. This had evolved from his intense patriotic feeling. Unfortunately, several masterpieces of this quintessential artist are no longer found. Again, many of his paintings are found to adorn the personal collections of the connoisseurs of art in India and abroad. This phenomenal artist passed away in 1977.