The Couple

From 1947 to 1952, Samant studied at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai, where he was exposed to a colonial curriculum, copying plaster casts of classical sculpture and studying Indian miniature painting. The latter, particularly Basohli painting, aided the development of his own aesthetic sensibilities. During this time, Samant visited numerous historic sites in India, familiarizing himself with the classical arts of the country, which provided images and motifs that he would reference throughout his career. The Couple exemplifies Samant’s practice, which tended towards abstraction with elements of figuration, while clearly indicating his adaptation of motifs and compositional strategies from Indian miniature painting. Its scratched and slightly distressed surface anticipates the artist’s future experiments with textural impasto.