Jamini Roy (11 April 1887 – 24 April 1972) , Indian master painter, born in small village in Beliatore, Bankura district, West Bengal. Jamini Roy joined the Government School of Art, Kolkata in 1903. He was taught to paint in the prevailing academic tradition drawing Classical nudes and painting in oils and in 1908 he received his Diploma in Fine Art. However, he soon realised that he needed to draw inspiration, not from Western traditions, but from his own culture, and so he looked to the living folk and tribal art for inspiration. He was most influenced by the Kalighat Painting, which was a style of art with bold sweeping brush-strokes. He moved away from his earlier impressionist landscapes and portraits and between 1921 and 1924 began his first period of experimentation with the Santhal dance as his starting point. Santhals are tribal people who live in the rural districts of Bengal. By the early 1930s, Roy made a complete switch to indigenous materials to paint on woven mats, jute and cloth.
Roy's rejection of the then modern style of painting and his foray into the realm of Bengali folk paintings marked a new beginning in the history of Indian modern art. The mother and child, Ramayana, Bride and Companions, Radha, and animals were painted in simple two-dimensional forms, with flat color application and an emphasis on the lines. The main subjects were often enclosed within decorative borders with motifs in the background. The figure of the Christ was also a subject that Roy often painted.
Jamini Roy was honoured with the State award of Padma Bhushan in 1954. In 1946, his work was exhibited in London and in 1953, in the New York City. His works can be found in several private and public collections, institutions and museums all over the world, including museums in Germany and the United States of America. In 1976, the Archaeological Survey of India, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India declared his works among the "Nine Masters" whose work, to be henceforth considered "to be art treasures, having regard to their artistic and aesthetic value".
