Jamini Roy, often described as a primitivist–modernist, is acknowledged as a pioneering artist of twentieth-century India. His work has been exhibited widely since the 1940s including in London and New York. The subject of the untitled painting could be identified as Krishna, a beloved Hindu deity who is recognised by his dark body and yellow garments. The parrot that Krishna holds to his chest appears often in Bengali folk paintings. Multiple versions of a similar figure were painted in the workshop and could variously be ascribed as an Indigenous Santal man or Kama, the deity of eroticism and love who typically appears with a parrot. The thick black outlines, flat colours, and folkish rendition of the frontal, monumental body filling up the picture plane are typical of Roy’s style. The “Blue God”, as he is also known, is one of the religious figures that appears often in Roy’s work, which also delved into Christian subjects.
—Latika Gupta
