Quamrul Hassan

(Bangladeshi, 1921-1988)

Untitled (Landscape)

Footnotes

Provenance
Property from a private collection, Singapore.
Acquired from the artist;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

The present lot was painted in 1945 when Hassan was 24 years old. Still a student, he trained under Zainul Abedin, and was greatly influenced by him, both in terms of style and subject matter. An adept watercolourist, one of the most impressive aspects of his watercolour painting was his ability to capture the essence of rural life in Bangladesh.

The landscape depicted in this lot is tranquil and poetic. Hassan had a keen eye for detail as seen in the windows, and the structure of the boats. He achieved this detail by applying delicate brushwork and vibrant colours. These were used in scarce quantities, as if to allow the natural beauty of the materials to come through. The composition of this work is elegant and compact. The right side of the watercolour is filled with boats, buildings, and trees, whereas the left side of the canvas appears empty and is dotted with two men in a boat in the centre of the picture with allusions to other boats and mountains in the distance. He has cleverly used the vanishing point, but instead of this appearing at the centre of the watercolour, it appears to the centre right as if following the meandering path of a river. This has created depth and perspective, but also suggests that the watercolour transcends the limited space upon which it is painted, akin to what the eye can see when gazing out at a river. It is a masterful work, aesthetically pleasing and structurally competent.