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  • Home
  • SERVICES
  • ARTISTS
    • AMIT BHAR
    • ANURADHA THAKUR
    • BASUKI DAS GUPTA
    • BHARTI PRAJAPATI
    • BUWA SHETE
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    • JAGANNATH PAUL
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    • JE SHEN
    • KALAMKARI
    • LAXMA GOUD
    • MADHURI BHADURI
    • MAQBOOL FIDA “M.F.” HUSAIN
    • MITHILA ART
    • NISHANT DANGE
    • OM SWAMI
    • RAMESH GORJALA
    • SANDEEP JIGDUNG
    • SANJAY ASHTAPUTRE
    • SAYED HAIDER “S.H.” RAZA
    • SENAKA SENANAYAKE
    • SEEMA KOHLI
    • SIDDHARTH SHINGADE
    • SUDIP ROY
    • SUJATA ACHREKAR
    • SUMANTO CHOWDHURY
    • THOTA VAIKUNTAM
    • VINITA KARIM
    • VIVEK KUMAVAT
  • ART FORMS
    • CONTEMPORARY ART
    • FINE ART PRINTS
    • MODERN ART
    • TRADITIONAL ART
  • COMMISSION ART
  • Collector’s Guide
    • BLOG ON INDIAN ART
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sonia2025-04-16T04:30:50-05:00
A Stunning Large-scale Commission By Artist Jagannath Paul
A Stunning Large-scale Commission By Artist Jagannath Paul

A STUNNING LARGE-SCALE COMMISSION BY ARTIST JAGANNATH PAUL


Over the years of coordinating commissions at Laasya Art, I have observed that commissioned paintings — and their collaborative nature — often challenge artists to create something completely new and outside of their usual process, resulting in some of their best works. This is certainly true for a recent commission by artist Jagannath Paul, which led to one of his most stunning and ambitious paintings ever!

The client’s brief truly gave us wings to fly with, inspiring both me as a gallerist and Jagannath as an artist. Although the client was new to Laasya, after a few initial conversations over the phone, he wholeheartedly put his faith and trust in us. This pure confidence inspired Jagannath to create something that he had never done before.

 

Artist Jagannath paints the two faces over the background.

In the brief, the client explained the three most important pieces of his vision:

1. He wanted a bold, clean painting with multiple ‘layers’ that would be a conversation starter.

2. He wanted the faces of a man and woman in the painting in Jagannath’s signature style, but he explained that the woman should dominate the composition, as a representation of women as the center of the home. The client specified the woman should wear a bindi in the color of sindoor.

3. Finally, like Jagannath, the client grew up in West Bengal, so he wanted the painting to feature Bengali motifs that would uniquely refer to his upbringing and his culture.

 

Early sketches reveal the ideation process, considering either a square or horizontal format.

At this point, I started the process of ideation and customization with Jagannath. We developed two concepts: one was a horizontal format, and another was a square format, as shown in the sketches above.

 

Early on in the commission process, this mock-up proposed four compositions, each with a set of faces.

Once we decided to go with the square format, we further developed two themes: either four compositions in one large painting (as shown above), or one pair of a man’s and woman’s face across four smaller paintings. We decided to go with the single pair of faces for its high impact value, and the final painting would be 9 x 9 feet, comprised of 4 paintings each measuring 4.5 x 4.5 feet.

That’s when I stepped back to let Jagannath take over. He simply excelled on this project, working for several weeks at a stretch on the background, with many long days almost bordering on obsession. The painting was also so large that it would not fit in the artist’s studio, so Jagannath actually created a makeshift studio on the ground floor of his apartment building! Below is an image of the complete background.

 

The background of the commission painting is packed with symbols of Bengali culture, from historic figures and landmarks to lines of poetry and depictions of nature.

Jagannath integrated elements of Bengali culture in the background, from drawings of traditional Bengali dance forms and kalighat paintings to key landmarks in Kolkata and legendary Bengali figures, like Nobel prize winner Rabindranath Tagore and freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

And at last, here is an image of the completed painting, with the faces painted on top of the background.

 

The ultimate commissioned 9 x 9 foot painting is a stunning work of art by Jagannath Paul as well as a powerful celebration of Bengali culture.

Below are images of these various details in each canvas, as they appear in the final painting.

In the top left panel, the architecture of Kolkata is prominently featured.

 

The top left panel features:

  • The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata

  • The Kolkata race course (by the woman’s right hand eyebrow)

  • The Howrah Bridge (under the woman’s left hand eye)


In the top right panel, Jagannath celebrates the freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose on a horse as well as the Sunderbans in West Bengal.

 

The top right panel features:

  • Subhash Chandra Bose, who hailed from West Bengal, riding a horse

  • The Sundarbans, a national heritage site with tigers, crocodiles, deer and other animals


In the bottom left panel, Jagannath pays homage to the unique art forms and artists that have emerged from West Bengal.

 

The bottom left panel features:

  • A blue mask from the Chhau folk dance (in the bottom right corner)

  • Line drawings in the style of Kalighat pattachitra, a type of natural dye paintings of the goddess Kali typically seen at Bengali temples

  • Lines from a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, written in English and in Bengali: When God is dead, religion becomes one


In the bottom right panel, Goddess Durga is a major theme in the background.

 

The bottom right panel features:

  • Goddess Durga, who is worshiped widely in West Bengal including a renowned festival in the early fall

  • Durga’s four children: Saraswati, the goddess of the arts and learning, with a veena (musical instrument); Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, standing on a lotus flower; Ganesha, god of good fortune; and Kartikeya, whose mount is a peacock

  • The Khidirpur docks in Kolkata and the Dakshineswar Kali temple


Artist Jagannath pictured with the final commission painting.

Once the background was done, Jagannath began painting the faces in a lighter, softer color palette, to allow viewers to better see the stories beneath the faces.

Once completed, not only were Jagannath and I pleased with the painting, but the client and his wife were absolutely thrilled and excited to have the commission hanging in their home at last.

The completed commissioned painting
The completed commissioned painting is a stunning centerpiece in this client’s home.

As a gallerist, it was a very satisfying project. It helps tremendously when you have a client who is operating from a space of trust and faith, which gives the artist the freedom to follow their instincts and take the outcome to completely different heights.

If you are curious about commissioning artwork online or locally, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@laasyaart.com or +1 650-770-9088. You can also read more on our guide to commissioning artwork with Laasya Art.

— Sonia Nayyar Patwardhan

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Laasya Art gallery is known for contemporary Indian and tribal art. We work with a wide range of recognized Indian artists to offer original paintings, prints and other works for sale, as well as commissioned artwork. Paintings shown on the website are available to browse and buy online as well as to view in person at the gallery’s Palo Alto location. Art collectors come to Laasya Art gallery not only from nearby cities like Saratoga, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park and Hillsborough within the San Francisco Bay Area but also from New York City, Seattle, Dallas, Houston and Chicago. If you are visiting Silicon Valley, we encourage you to stop by for an appointment-only tour to view our highly curated collection of original Indian art.

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