Important Notice

Hebbar’s engagement with landscape took a significant turn during his stay in Mahabaleshwar in 1951–52, when he spent time “exploring nature, experimenting and innovating with colours”. As Veena K Thimmaiah writes, “the elements of Nature began to take precedence over the people who inhabit it”. Hebbar “humanized his landscapes by infusing them with emotion.” He continued to paint the landscapes of Bombay and travelled frequently to Rajasthan,... Hebbar’s engagement with landscape took a significant turn during his stay in Mahabaleshwar in 1951–52, when he spent time “exploring nature, experimenting and innovating with colours”. As Veena K Thimmaiah writes, “the elements of Nature began to take precedence over the people who inhabit it”. Hebbar “humanized his landscapes by infusing them with emotion.” He continued to paint the landscapes of Bombay and travelled frequently to Rajasthan, where he often spent his days sketching. (Veena K Thimmaiah, “K K Hebbar Beats”, K G Subramanyan, Veena K Thimmaiah et al, Hebbar: An Artist’s Quest, Bengaluru: NGMA and K K Hebbar Art Foundation, 2011, p. 23)

By the later decades of his career, Hebbar’s treatment of nature had also turned towards its elemental qualities. Discussing his later work, May Flowers, he recalled “the burning tree‒ trunk cutting across the background of mayflowers” which “conveys the heat of summer.” This interest in elemental forces finds a more explicit formulation in his writing: “I consider Energy to be an all‒pervading force with various manifestations,” and he identified “the five elements which are the sources of Energy — Earth (Prithvi), Water (Jal), Fire (Agni), Wind (Vayu), and Ether (Akash).” (K K Hebbar, “Voyage in Images,” Critical Collective, online) In the present lot, the central tree rises towards the orange sun, while the ochre ground anchors the landscape below.

The rounded forms of the trees recall Mulk Raj Anand’s discussion of Hebbar’s line, which he calls “the suggestive line”, associated with “harmonious movements” and “lovable round shapes, particularly the sphere which encloses a portion of space and creates a coherent form.” Anand distinguishes this “curvacious line” from the “straight line”, arguing that while the latter “measures facts”, the former “transforms the lyrical feelings and presents a coherent experience.” (Mulk Raj Anand, The Singing Line, Bombay: G S Pohekar, 1964) In the present lot, the rounded canopies and circular sun give this distinction a direct visual presence, as the curve recurs across the landscape.

Anand’s description of Hebbar’s imagery returns to the tree: he wrote of the “tree of life” that “branches out and flows like stars breaking across the sky.” (Mulk Raj Anand, quoted in Hebbar, Critical Collective, online)

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