Tyeb Mehta
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Tyeb Mehta (26 July 1925 – 2 July 2009) was an Indian painter, sculptor and film maker. He was part of the
Bombay Progressive Artists' Group The Progressive Artists' Group (PAG), was a group of modern artists, mainly based in Bombay, from its formation in 1947. Though it lacked any particular style, there might be said to have been a move towards a synthesis of influences from Indian ...
and the first
post-colonial Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
generation of artists in India, like John Wilkins who also broke free from the nationalist
Bengal school The Bengal School of Art, commonly referred as Bengal School, was an art movement and a style of Indian painting that originated in Bengal, primarily Kolkata and Shantiniketan, and flourished throughout the Indian subcontinent, during the Britis ...
and embraced
Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
instead, with its
post-impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...
colours,
cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...
forms and brusque,
expressionistic Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
styles. Among his most noted later paintings were his
triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...
'' Celebration'', which when sold for Rs 15 million ($317,500) at a
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
auction in 2002, was not only the highest sum for an Indian painting at an international auction, but also triggered the subsequent great Indian art boom; his other noted works were the 'Diagonal Series', ''Santiniketan triptych'' series, ''
Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
'', ''Mahishasura'' (1996). He stayed and worked in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
for much of his life, except for three spells at London, New York, and
Santiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...
, each having a distinct impact upon his work. He received several awards during his career including the
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
in 2007.Tyeb Mehta stood for hope over hype
Nina Martyris,
Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
, 3 July 2009.


Early life and education

Tyeb Mehta was born on 26 July 1925 in
Kapadvanj Kapadvanj (Karpat – Vanjiyam or "The Land of Textile") is a town as well as one of the Taluka of the Kheda district in the Gujarat India. It is located on bank of river Mohar. It is 65 km away from Ahmedabad and 93 km away from Vado ...
, a town of
Kheda district Kheda District is one of the thirty-three districts of Gujarat state in western India. Its central city, Kheda, is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Formerly known as Kaira district, it was divided in two with the sou ...
, the Indian state of
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
. He was brought up in the
Crawford Market Crawford Market (officially Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai) is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. The building was completed in 1869, and donated to the city by Cowasji Jehangir. Originally named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal ...
neighbourhood of Mumbai, populated by
Dawoodi Bohras The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. Their largest numbers reside in India, Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, and the Middle East, with a growing presence across Europe, North America, Sout ...
. At 22 years, during the
partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...
riots of 1947 in Mumbai, while staying at Lehri House, Mohammed Ali Road, he witnessed a man being stoned to death by a mob, this he not only expressed in a drawing but it was to have lasting impact on his work, leading to stark and often disturbing depiction of his subjects. For a while initially, he worked as a film editor in a cinema laboratory at Famous Studios, in
Tardeo Tardeo or Tardeo Road () is an elite residential and commercial locality of South Mumbai, from Nana Chowk to Haji Ali Junction. Tardeo is one of Asia’s most expensive residential and commercial locality and house to India’s richest man Muke ...
, Mumbai. Later, he received his diploma from
Sir J. J. School of Art The Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art (Sir J. J. School of Art) is the oldest art institution in Mumbai, India, and is affiliated with the University of Mumbai. The school grants bachelor's degrees in fine art and sculpture, and Master's de ...
in 1952, and was part of the
Bombay Progressive Artists' Group The Progressive Artists' Group (PAG), was a group of modern artists, mainly based in Bombay, from its formation in 1947. Though it lacked any particular style, there might be said to have been a move towards a synthesis of influences from Indian ...
, which drew stylistic inspiration from Western
Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
, and included greats of Indian paintings such as F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza and
M.F. Husain Maqbool Fida Husain (17 September 1915 – 9 June 2011) was an Indian artist known for executing bold, vibrantly coloured narrative paintings in a modified Cubist style. He was one of the most celebrated and internationally recognised Ind ...
.


Career

He left for London in 1959, where he worked and lived till 1964. Thereafter, he visited the New York City, when he was awarded a fellowship from the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Fund in 1968.Tyeb Mehta: From filmmaker to painter
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
, 20 September 2002.
During the years the artist spent in London, Mehta's style was influenced by the expressionist works of Francis Bacon, but while in New York his work came to be characterised by minimalism. He made a three-minute film, ''Koodal'' (
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
for 'meeting place'), which he shot at the
Bandra Bandra (Indian English, æːɳɖɾa also known as Vandre (Help:IPA/Marathi, aːn̪d̪ɾe is an upscale coastal suburb located in Mumbai (Bombay) area of the Konkan division, Maharashtra, India. The suburb is located to the immediate nor ...
slaughter house, it won the Filmfare Critics Award in 1970. He also remained an Artist-in-Residence at the
Santiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...
between 1984–85, and returned to Mumbai with significant changes in his work. Common themes of his works were trussed bulls, the rickshaw puller, from here he moved to the ''Diagonal series'', which he created through the 1970s, after accidentally discovering it in 1969, when in a moment of creative frustration he flung a black streak across his canvas. Later in life, he added ''Falling Figures'' made in 1991, based on his experience of witnessing the violent death of a man in the street during the
Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
riots of 1947, Besides adding several mythological figures into his work, highlighted by the depictions of goddess
Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
and demon
Mahishasura Mahishasura is a bovine asura in Hinduism. He is depicted in literature to be a deceitful demon who pursued his evil ways by shape-shifting. Mahishasura was the son of Mahisi (Buffalo) and the great-grandson of Brahmarshi Kashyapa. He was ultim ...
. Tyeb Mehta held the then record for the highest price an
Indian painting Indian painting has a very long tradition and history in Indian art, though because of the climatic conditions very few early examples survive.Blurton, 193 The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of prehistoric times, such as the ...
has ever sold for at auction ($317,500 USD or 15 million
Indian rupee The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use wh ...
s) for '' Celebration'' at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
in 2002. In May 2005, his painting ''
Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
'' sold for 10 million
Indian rupee The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use wh ...
s (approximately equal to 230,000 US dollars) at Indian auction house Saffronart's online auction. A reinterpretation of the tale of demon
Mahishasura Mahishasura is a bovine asura in Hinduism. He is depicted in literature to be a deceitful demon who pursued his evil ways by shape-shifting. Mahishasura was the son of Mahisi (Buffalo) and the great-grandson of Brahmarshi Kashyapa. He was ultim ...
by Mehta showing goddess
Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...
locked in an embrace with the demon sold for $1.584 million. In 2008 one of his paintings sold for $2 million. In December 2005, Mehta's painting ''Gesture'' was sold for 31 million Indian rupees to Ranjit Malkani, chairman of Kuomi Travel, at the Osian's auction. That made it the highest price ever paid by an Indian for a work of Indian contemporary art at auction in India at the time. Mehta's were the first works by a contemporary Indian artist to sell for over a million dollars, and indicated a burgeoning interest in Indian art by the international market; as a result, Mehta became a cultural hero.


Personal life

Tyeb Mehta spent most of life in Mumbai and later in life stayed at
Lokhandwala Lokhandwala Complex, also known as Lokhandwala, is a large upmarket and affluent residential and commercial neighbourhood in Andheri West suburb in Mumbai, India. It is approximately 5 km from Andheri station. The name Lokhandwala come ...
,
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. He died on 2 July 2009 at a Mumbai hospital following a heart attack.Tyeb Mehta dead
''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
''. Retrieved on 3 July 2009.
He is survived by his wife, Sakina, their son, Yusuf, and daughter, Himani and a number of grandchildren. He loved the works of master architect
Bijoy Jain Bijoy Jain (born 1965) is an Indian people, Indian architect and Norman R. Foster Visiting Professor of architecture at Yale University. He received his M. Arch from Washington University in St Louis, USA in 1990. He then worked in Richard Meie ...
.


Awards

He received a fellowship from the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Fund in 1968, also in the same year, a gold medal for paintings at the first Triennial in New Delhi, and in 1974 the Prix Nationale at the International Festival of Painting in
Cagnes-sur-Mer Cagnes-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cagnes on Sea''; oc, Canha de Mar) is a French Riviera town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Cagnes-sur-Mer is a town in south-eastern ...
, France, the
Kalidas Samman The Kalidas Samman ( hi, कालिदास सम्मान) is an arts award presented annually by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in India. The award is named after Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of ancient India. The ...
, instituted by the
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
Government, in 1988, the Dayawati Modi Foundation Award for Art, Culture, and Education in 2005, and the
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
in 2007. His film 'Koodal' was awarded the Filmfare Critics' Award in 1970. Mehta's work has been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, England, and the
Hirshhorn Museum The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was des ...
. A career retrospective is scheduled for later 2009 at the
National Gallery of Modern Art National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
, in New Delhi.


Bibliography

* ''Tyeb Mehta: Ideas Images Exchanges'', by Tyeb Mehta,
Ranjit Hoskote Ranjit Hoskote (born 1969) is an Indian poet, art critic, cultural theorist and independent curator. He has been honoured by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, with the Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award and the Sahitya ...
, Roshan Shahani. Publisher: Vadehra Art Gallery, 2008. .


Further reading

* ''Tyeb Mehta'', by Georgina and Ulli Beier. Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, 1977. * ''Svaraj: a journey with Tyeb Mehta's "Shantiniketan triptych"'', by
Ramchandra Gandhi Ramchandra Gandhi (9 June 1937 – 13 June 2007) was an Indian philosopher. He was the son of Devdas Gandhi ( Mahatma Gandhi's youngest son) and Lakshmi (daughter of Rajaji) and also brother of Rajmohan Gandhi, Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Tara Ga ...
. Vadehra Art Gallery, 2002. .


References


External links


Tyeb Mehta, Tribute siteTyeb Mehta- List of Most expensive Indian PaintingsTyeb Mehta Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Tyeb Dawoodi Bohras Indian Ismailis Indian male painters Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art alumni Indian Expressionist painters Rockefeller Foundation people Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts People associated with Santiniketan 1925 births 2009 deaths Muslim artists People from Kheda district 20th-century Indian painters Painters from Gujarat