Santhal Warrior

Ramkinkar Baij’s rebellion was against himself,he renewed himself constantly…he evolved as an artist and created works that stylistically opposed the fundamental styles,rules and philosophies of the existing traditions,” writes KS Radhakrishnan,curator of a retrospective on one of the most distinguished early modernists in Indian art. Baij,as famous for his reticence as for his single-minded devotion to art,will be remembered through an exhibition of 500 paintings,his sketch-books and sculptures apart from photographs of his works in Shantiniketan in West Bengal. The exhibition,to be held at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi from February 8 to March 31,will be accompanied by six book releases. Born in Bankura,West Bengal in 1906,Baij’s best-known work is a sculpture called Santhal Family (1938),in which he represents tribal peasants with the grace and dignity that,thus far,had been reserved for gods and rulers in the world of art.