Painting, Chinnamasta, by K. G. Subramanyan, varnished gouache on paper, India, 1991

In this work, executed in varnished gouache on paper, Subramanyan depicts the Hindu goddess Chinnamasta. The figure has her back towards the viewer and occupies the centre of the background. The goddess has decapitated her own head from which jets of blood spurt from the neck and feed the two decapitated heads she holds in her hands. Below her we observe a group of figures whose bodies appear entangled and difficult to individuate. The artist has used a variety of colours and a style that is abstract.

Chinnamasta. The figure has her back towards the viewer and occupies the centre of the background. The goddess has decapitated her own head from which jets of blood spurt from the neck and feed the two decapitated heads she holds in her hands. Below her we observe a group of figures whose bodies appear entangled and difficult to individuate.

Purchased from The Art Heritage, New Delhi. RP 92/964

K.G. Subramanyan is celebrated as much for his wide-ranging scholarship as for his artistic output. Born in 1924 in a Keralian village, Subramanyan initially studied economics at Presidency College in Madras. He was actively involved during the Indian freedom struggle from British rule and was a firm believer of Gandhian principles. For this reason, he was imprisoned and banned from joining all government colleges.

From 1944 to 1948, Subramanyan studied at Kala Bhavan, the art faculty of Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan, under the tutelage of modern Indian art pioneers including Nandalal Bose, Benode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij. In 1951 he became a lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Arts at M.S. University in Baroda. In 1956 he went to London and studied at the Slade School of Art as a British Council fellow. From 1959 to 1961, he became deputy director of design at All India Handloom Board in Bombay and continued to be a design consultant until 1966.

In 1966 and in 1967 he went to New York as J. D. Rockefeller Fellow. From 1980 to 1989, he taught painting at Santiniketan. In 1975 and 1976, he attended the World Craft Council and lectured at various Canadian universities. In 1989 he was made a Professor Emeritus at Visva Bharati. From 1987-1988, he was an Oxford Christensen Fellow in St. Catherine's College.

In his work, Subramanyan incorporates a variety of techniques. Often he includes weaving and toy-making in an attempt to blur the Western distinction between fine art and craftsmanship. he artist is also responsible for revitalizing many indigenous craft techniques such as the use of terracotta relief tableaux and glass painting. His oeuvre can roughly be divided into three categories: large relief murals, terracotta sculptures, paintings and drawings. His boldest and most ambitious creations to date consist of relief murals and terracotta tableaux with a narrative content. Their importance is further increased by the fact that relief sculpture, a millennial indigenous craft technique, is almost entirely absent from the contemporary Indian art landscape.

As well as being a prolific artist, Subramanyan has written extensively on art history and Indian art. In 1975 he was awarded the Padma Shree by the government of India and in 1981 the prestigious Kalidas Samman art award by the government of Madhya Pradesh. In 1922 he received a Honoris Causa from the Rabindra Bharati University in Calcutta and in 1993 became a Fellow of Lalit Kala Akademi in Kerala. Subramanyan lives in Baroda with his wife.

In this work, Subramanyan depicts the Hindu goddess Chinnamasta which is translated as 'the one with a severed head'. According to this myth, Chinnamasta, having severed her own head with her sword, holds her severed head with her lef hand. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck, one streaming into the mouth of her severed head, while the others into the mouths of her two female associates. Moreover she is shown standing on the copulating couple of Kamadeva and Rati who are lying on a lotus. Chinnamasta is either interpreted as the personification of sexual energy or controlling sexual desire. In this work, Subramanyan has depicted Chinnamasta with her back towards the viewer and has placed her at the centre of the background. We observe several jets of blood spurting from her severed neck and feeding two decapitated heads. Below her we see a group of figures whose bodies appear entangled and difficult to individuate. The scene suggests chaos, sexual promiscuity and death.

IS.28-1993