“I believe in a very simple philosophy of life. If I am honest and true to my art, I will reach the divine. This is the only form of prayer.”
- Partha Bhattacharjee
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Early Years
Partha Bhattacharjee was born in a town, Chandannagore, the former French colony of India in 1958. Youngest of five kids, Partha, belonged to a very middle-class family. His father was an Accounts Clerk in the Titagargh Paper Mill and mother a housewife with a passion for singing. Partha had a simple and guileless childhood with his cousins and friends.
It was in his teens that he felt immense passion towards art and painting. He noticed the sketches of his school friend and was drawn towards it. During this phase he met Jyoti Prakash Mallick, mentor, guide and one of the key forces that helped him transition to Fine Arts.
Art College Days
It was quite a bit of struggle when he decided to pursue Fine Arts in college. His family had a hard time accepting his decision but finally they relented. The Government College of Art & Craft, one of the oldest art colleges in India was a complete revelation. He started to learn the intricacies of portraiture, still life, landscape, and aesthetics.
It is in this College that Partha trained under stalwarts like Bikash Bhattacharjee, Lalu Prasad Shaw, Ganesh Haloi, and Isha Mohammad. He also met one of his biggest influence in life- Professor Ashesh Mitra. Professor Mitra guided him towards aestheticism and its relevance in art.
Despite acute financial crisis, Partha labored towards knowing all aspects of art with the support of Professor Ashesh Mitra.
Partha admired the dramatic illumination of Rembrandt, the simplicity of Amedeo Modigliani and Rabindranath Tagore. He was deeply moved by Lust for Life, a biographical novel on Vincent Van Gogh. Kathamrita by Sri Sri Ramkrishnaa influenced and changed his perspective towards life.
The Struggle
After passing out from Art College, Partha devoted his entire life to art under the tutelage of Ashesh Mitra. To aid his art works, Partha had worked as a tuition teacher, a railway porter, and painted garages.
In the early 80’s, along with a colleague, Partha wanted to venture into Film Publicity. But an encounter with the legendary Satyajit Ray, the Indian film director put him back in art.
Partha joined as an art teacher in DPS, Angul, Orissa and later Kendriya Vidyalaya, Dhanbad. He continued painting under the guidance of Ashesh Mitra. He became a member of the renowned Reflection group of Calcutta in the 1980s. His first exhibition as part of the reflection group was in 1988.
It was during this time, Partha started receiving commissioned works. His work included copies of Renaissance painters like Rembrandt, Renoir, Vermeer, Titian. The commissioned works financed his personal series as a painter.
Recurrent Themes
During his years in DPS and Kendriya Vidyalaya, Partha depicted his internal grief, suffering, and yearning in his paintings. His paintings had a recurrent theme of mofussil life, struggles, and hankerings of his family.
The women of his family are part of a larger philosophy that is evident in his paintings. A firm believer of the ancient life force that is essentially female, Partha felt pained and grief stricken when he saw the plight of women during his time. This led to his Debi (Goddess) series that he had created multiple times in his career as an artist. The recurrent motif of his work was the goddess in a human form and settings− rural and urban struggling to make ends meet. But in all her struggles you could see a glimpse of her divinity.
Partha’s Devi Series showed how the human life is driven by the ancient force, yet clouded by ego, anger, and other base emotions.
Work Philosophy
Partha worked with oil for more than 35 years. It was in the 1990s he decided to experiment with different mediums. His knowledge of Renaissance paintings helped in experimenting with Trompe-l’œil, a technique of using realistic images to create optical illusions. This technique of creating an illusion is evident in his later series.
Art for Partha has been the only form of prayer and reaching the divine. In his words he says: “I believe in a very simple philosophy of life. If I am honest and true to my art, I will reach the divine. This is the only form of prayer.”