Paritosh Sen

Paritosh Sen is an Indian artist who has been active in the field for about forty years. He works as a writer, painter, illustrator, and tutor. Sen is well known for his drawings of naked women and his caricatures, both of which have significant underlying sociopolitical undertones. His exposure to Western Modern art shaped his representational style, which hints of cubism. Despite using two-dimensional, rigid planes, he manages to convey a sense of voluptuousness. His powerful lines and aggressive, stylized strokes are well-known in his paintings and sketches. His paintings are dominated by the human figure, which conveys a wide range of emotions, even though colour plays a significant role. Sen’s portrayal of situations from ordinary urban life is a recurring theme in his paintings. Sen’s usual point of view is sarcastic and distant, and this is evident in the way he renders these actions. Paritosh Sen graduated from the Government College of Arts and Crafts in Chennai with a diploma in fine arts. After relocating to Calcutta in 1942, he founded the Calcutta Group, an association of painters who aimed to infuse modern principles into Indian art, together with a number of associates. He moved to Paris in 1949 to pursue his education, attending the Ecole des Beaux-Arts among other institutions. The John D. Rockefeller III Fund awarded him a fellowship for 1970–1971 years. Sen is a prolific author who has written extensively in Bengali and English, including the “Jindabahar Lane” autobiographical tales. His artwork has been shown both domestically in India and abroad in the US, Germany, Paris, London, and Tokyo. The death of Paritosh Sen occurred in October 2008.