Somalal Shah (1905–1994) was an Indian painter and art teacher. Born in

Kapadvanj Kapadvanj (Karpat – Vanjiyam or "The Land of Textile") is a town as well as one of the Taluka of the Kheda district in the Gujarat India. It is located on bank of river Mohar. It is 65 km away from Ahmedabad and 93 km away from Vado ...

and educated in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

and

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, he spent three decades painting and teaching art in Bhavnagar in Saurashtra, Gujarat.

Early life

He was born to a shopkeeper Chunilal and Jekorben on 14 February 1905 in

, Gujarat, India. He studied briefly at

Gujarat College Gujarat Arts & Science College, popularly and previously known as Gujarat College, is one of the oldest educational institution of India and second arts and science college of Gujarat, near Ellis Bridge, Ahmedabad. The institution was founded ...

in Ahmedabad and Kalavant Karkhana in

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

. He joined

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 1926. He further studied at Indian Society of Oriental Art,

established by

Abanindranath Tagore Abanindranath Tagore ( Bengali: অবনীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 August 1871 – 5 December 1951) was the principal artist and creator of the "Indian Society of Oriental Art". He was also the first major exponent of Sw ...

Career

Ravishankar Raval Ravishankar Raval (1892–1977) was a painter, art teacher, art critic, journalist and essayist from Gujarat, India. He worked for the magazine ''Vismi Sadi'' until it closed in 1921, and then founded the cultural magazine '' Kumar''. Life Ravi ...

's advice, he joined

Dakshinamurti Dakshinamurthy () is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge. This aspect of Shiva, as the original guru, is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. Thi ...

, an educational institute established by Nanabhai Bhatt, as an arts teacher. Dakshinamurti published a portfolio of fifteen paintings titled ''Rang Rekha'' in 1934–35. In

Bhavnagar State Bhavnagar State was a princely state with 13 Gun Salutes during the British Raj. It was part of Kathiawar Agency in Saurashtra. The State of Bhavnagar covered an area of 2,961 sq. miles and had a population of 618,429 in 1941. Its ruler ...

, the royal family of Bhavnagar became his patron. Dakshinamurti moved out of Bhavnagar in 1939. So Somalal taught briefly at Kumarshala and Gharshala until 1943. He joined Alfred High School in 1944 on request of the royals of Bhavnagar state. He taught arts there for two decades. He died in 1994 in Ahmedabad.

Style

He attempted to use European techniques on Indian subjects. He also worked in styles of Indian miniature paintings and the Bengal revivalist movement.https://lalitkalaacademy.gujarat.gov.in/writereaddata/images/pdf/somlal-shah.pdf He avoided heavy oil colour strokes and muted sepia tones. As he studied in Culcutta, he was greatly influenced by Nandalal Bose and

. He used a wash technique which later became his signature style. He lived in Saurashtra region of Gujarat for almost three decades where his works depicted the culture and people of the region. He also illustrated the book on the birds of Kutch and Saurashtra. His paintings were natural and realistic with great attention to the details.

Awards

He was awarded the

Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, also known as the Ranjitram Gold Medal, was founded by Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and is considered the highest literary award in Gujarati literature. The award is named after renowned Gujarati writer Ranjitram Mehta. It is ...

in 1949. In 1990, he received the Ravishankar Raval State Award for Arts by the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

. In 1988,

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation The Amdavad Municipal Corporation, or the AMC, established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act (1949), is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Ahmedabad. History On 21 April 1831, the ...

felicitated him. He was also the recipient of an award from the Gujarat Lalit Kala Akademi.

References

External links

*Esther David
The Maya of Colours
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Somalal 1905 births 1994 deaths Indian male painters People from Kheda district 20th-century Indian painters Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Painters from Gujarat 20th-century Indian male artists