Shiavax Dhanjibhoy Chavda (11 December 191418 August 1990) was an Indian painter and illustrator. Regarded as the master of movement, Chavda was a versatile artist who worked with multiple mediums.
Early life and education
Chavda was born in a middle class
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
family on 11 December 1914 in
Navsari
Navsari is the ninth biggest city in the state of Gujarat in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Navsari District. Navsari is situated between Surat & Mumbai. Navsari is a twin city of Surat. It is located 37 km south of Sura ...
,
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
. His father Dhanjibhoy was a trader and mother's name was Hillamai. He completed his school education in Navsari and joined the
Sir J. J. School of Art
The Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art (Sir J. J. School of Art) is the oldest art institution in Mumbai, India, and is affiliated with the University of Mumbai. The school grants bachelor's degrees in fine art and sculpture, and Master's de ...
in Mumbai.
After passing the art diploma examination in 1935, he was awarded the Sir Ratan Tata Scholarship in 1936 for further studies and secured admission in
Slade School of Fine Art
The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
in London. Under the guidance of eminent teachers such as
Randolph Schwabe
Randolph Schwabe (9 May 1885 – 19 September 1948) was a British draughtsman, painter and etcher who was the Slade Professor of Fine Art at University College London from 1930 until his death. He served as a war artist in both World Wars, crea ...
combined with dedicated self-study, he completed the three-year course in two years itself. A few months later, he also trained at the
Académie de la Grande Chaumière
The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France.
History
The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the Acad ...
in Paris.
During his stay in Europe, Chavda mastered the techniques of murals, lithography, painting restoration, as well as theater stage design with the Russian artist
Vladimir Polunin
Vladimir Polunin (1880 – 11 March 1957) was a scene painter.
Born in the Russian Empire, in 1908 Polunin moved to London to work as a designer for the '' Ballets russes''. He was Diaghilev's chief scene-painter and worked with Picasso. Among ...
Initially, Chavda painted in Victorian realistic style. During his travels across India, he studied the splendor of rural and tribal life, animals, as well as the architecture of Ajanta & Ellora, Khajuraho,
Sanchi
Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bh ...
etc., and drew numerous sketches and pen-ink drawings. He used to visit the zoo and sketch various animals, their movements and postures. He also made many sketches and colorful pictures of cock as a subject. Additionally, he studied the folk art, folk dance and architecture of Indonesian islands like
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
, Sumatra and Bali through sketches and subsequently developed his own style.
Style
Chavda was fascinated by the dynamic movements of individuals and groups of people engaged in their chores, dancers in various forms along with musicians showcasing their style and rhythm. He painted on canvas in
impasto
''Impasto'' is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provide ...
style, applying the paint with a painting knife. The characteristic of Chavda's artworks were the rhythmic lines, which were drawn by scraping off colours and painted with confidence. He skillfully captured the motion and rhythmic movements of the picture by sketching them quickly. In his paintings, he brought life to the image by using vivid colors while maintaining the predominance of sketched lines.
Themes
The beauty of the subject matter was expressed by Chavda by systematically laying out the basic elements of painting like lines, shapes, rhythm etc. Gradually, his paintings involved an emotional element, and he also portrayed the subject matter in an abstract style. At times, he even used ''yantra'' from Tantric art as images or symbols in his artworks. He also created colorful drawings and sketches based on Indian dance forms such as
Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...
and
Odissi
Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.
Reception
In an article for ''The Modern Review'', Prof. O. C. Gangoly wrote that Chavda successfully extracted the lessons from modern European art. He did not confine himself to Western modernistic techniques but also drew valuable lessons from the traditions of old Indian sculptures, which was demonstrated in his studies of the sculptures of
Ambarnath
Ambernath (Marathi pronunciation: mbəɾnaːt̪ʰ is an eastern suburban city in Mumbai and is a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Notable people
* Merwyn Fernandes, former Indian hockey player
* Farukh Choudhary, Indian footballer
* ...
. Another article for the ''
The Contemporary Review
''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013.
History
The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals anxious to promote intellig ...
'' by A. S. Raman described Chavda as the master of mood and movement. Raman writes that he could capture a given moment with uncanny accuracy and spontaneity. Further, the writer mentions that the studied casualness of his line was deceptive, for there was a good deal of concentration and preparation behind it. "He painted the Indian scene with the sardonic precision and detachment of an observer, rather than with the passion and abandon of one involved in it", quotes Raman. He also suspected that Chavda secretly prayed at the shrine of
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in th ...
.
Work
Chavda had created murals for the Mumbai offices of
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...
,
Burmah Oil
The Burmah Oil Company was a leading British oil company which was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 1966, Castrol was acquired by Burmah, which was renamed "Burmah-Castrol". BP Amoco (now BP) purchased the company in 2000.
Histo ...
,
Reliance Group
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group or popularly known as Reliance ADA Group or simply Reliance Group is an Indian conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company, which was formed after Dhirubhai Ambani's business was divided up, ...
and the buildings of People's Insurance Company, National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA). He also painted commissioned portraits for various government and private organizations. Chavda was invited by the Assam government to portray the diversity of tribal life in Assam. He had also provided line drawings for
Balwant Gargi
Balwant Gargi (4 December 1916 – 22 April 2003) was an Indian Punjabi language dramatist, theatre director, novelist, and short story writer, and academic.
Early life
On 4 December 1916, in Canal House in Sehna, Barnala (Punjab), Balwant Gar ...
's book titled ''Folk Theater of India''. Additionally, he was associated with K. K. Hebbar for some time at the
Bombay Art Society
The Bombay Art Society is a non-profit art organization based in Mumbai. The institution was founded in 1888 for encouraging and promoting art. Most of the renowned artists on India's art scene have been associated with the Bombay Art Society in s ...
, and sought to change the old way of thinking in the society and to bring a modern approach to it.
Major exhibitions
Chavda's first solo exhibition was held in 1945 at the Princes' Room of the
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
The Taj Mahal Palace is a heritage, five-star, luxury hotel in the Colaba area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, situated next to the Gateway of India. Built in the Saracenic Revival style, it opened in 1903 as the Taj Mahal Hotel and has histori ...
in Mumbai. This was followed by a one-man exhibition in 1946 at the Silverfish Club and another in 1947 at the Princes' Room of the Taj Hotel which was inaugurated on 15 January 1947. The latter show included a series of paintings made during his visit to Kullu Valley in 1943 and other set of artworks created during his stay in the remote villages of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
in 1946.
Public collections
The artworks of Chavda are housed in the collections of several local and foreign collectors, museums and art galleries such as
Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery
The Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery in Vadodara was built in 1894 on the lines of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Science Museum of London. Major Mant in association with R.F. Chisholm who refined some of Mant's finest works to make genuin ...
,
National Gallery of Modern Art
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
,
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a public deemed research university located in Mumbai, India that is dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the ...
and
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
In 1947, Shiavax married Khurshid, an expert in Indian dance, and had two children. Their daughter Jeru alias Jyoti is a dancer and their son Pervez is an architect.
Death and legacy
Chavda died on 18 August 1990 in Mumbai at the age of 75.