Picture a postcard-sized painting of an empty, clouded landscape in soft blues and greys beside a framed image of a vibrant village procession led by a dancer. The first is quiet and introspective, while the second bursts with bold, dynamic energy. One is in watercolour, contemplating the serene stillness of nature where a human figure is a mere speck against the vastness. The other, rendered in oils, acrylics and mixed media, embraces a range of subjects — figures, built environments, the lively interplay of rural and urban milieus, and more. One is meticulously titled and dated (‘Autumn Rain, Pundooah’, 13.12.70), while the other reflects a modernist refusal to be confined, simply labelled ‘Untitled’.
Father-son duo Bireswar and Sureshwar Sen are a study in contrast. Painter, writer and teacher Bireswar Sen (1897–1974) was renowned for his miniature landscape portraits typically measuring 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches, roughly the size of a postcard. Despite their small size, his paintings captured the profound grandeur and sublimity of the majestic Himalayas, marking him as an enduring figure in the evolution of modern Indian art. His son Sureshwar’s approach couldn’t be more divergent in style and subject matter. ‘Father & Son: An Artistic Lineage’, an exhibition conceptualized by the late art historian B N Goswamy, opened in Delhi on December 11, exploring the dialogue between tradition and innovation through the works of Bireswar and Sureshwar Sen. While not exactly chalk and cheese, the two artists branch out and intersect in unexpected ways, as reflected in the thoughtful curation.
“Their similarities are on a different plane. It’s in their wholehearted commitment to art. In their handling of colours and draftsmanship. But the exhibition is about contrasts and not similarities. There is no clear logic in the juxtaposition of their works. There are few meeting points,” says Prithviswar Sen, part of the curatorial team and Sureshwar’s son. Prithviswar grew up immersed in art, watching his father and grandfather at play. Pointing to a large photograph of Bireswar hunched over his drawing board, signing a just-completed postcard-painting, he says his grandfather could create up to three paintings a day, each completed in just 40 minutes to an hour. Bireswar also taught English for a while in a Patna college and many of his paintings’ titles reveal a distinct influence of English songs, nursery rhymes and novels, such as ‘One Misty Moisty Morning’, ‘Roaming in the Gloaming’ and ‘Return of the Native.’
Goswamy had extensively studied and written about Bireswar’s miniature landscapes. His admiration for Bireswar’s work influenced his decision to curate exhibitions featuring the artist, such as ‘Small Works | Great Vision’ in 2022, which laid the groundwork for the current exhibition. Despite his declining health, Goswamy remained enthusiastic about the project until his passing in November 2023. The curatorial team — Ella Datta, Pradip Kumar Datta, Aparna Nambiar, and Prithviswar Sen — completed the project, staying true to Goswamy’s vision.
The exhibition comprises unsold works from the family archives. While Bireswar’s masterpieces have been widely shown across India and abroad, there is little public memory of Sureshwar’s works which were last shown in the late 1970s. Bireswar’s watercolour and wash techniques were rooted in the Bengal School but evolved into a unique idiom. However, Sureshwar employed expressionistic distortions and semi-abstract forms. In his Varanasi series, thick, dynamic brush lines capture the architectural beauty and spiritual energy of the city. After a fellowship in Japan, Sureshwar did a series inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s film, ‘Seven Samurai’ which incorporates textiles as a collaged element for texture. Women from rural scenes in India pulsate through his paintings in a palette of bold red, black and yellow ochre.
“In the 20th century, there was a great leap forward, not just in science but also in art with the coming of modernism. There was progress happening everywhere — from the Bauhaus movement to the Bombay Progressives and Baroda School — as artists marked their protest against the company style of painting. Even Bireswar was not a traditionalist. The exhibition is to show the great leap forward in a single lineage, in one generation from father to son. Usually, ten generations pass before a change in style appears,” adds Sen, highlighting the exhibition’s central theme and intent.
Ashish Anand, CEO and MD at DAG (formerly Delhi Art Gallery), has been collecting Bireswar’s works for a while, with his iconic landscapes being shown in several of DAG’s exhibitions. “Family legacies are interesting. In previous exhibitions, we have brought together the paintings of Hirachand Dugar and his son Indra Dugar too. A rare ‘jugalbandi’ between father and son, coming as it does from a private collection, only adds immensely to our understanding and knowledge of art practice in the country,” says Anand.
