S. M. Pandit

Dr. S. M. Pandit (Sambanand Monappa Pandit, 25 March 1916 – 30 March 1993) was one of the most popular and much sought-after painters of his times, especially in the school of Realism in contrast to the contemporaneous net-traditionalist Bengal Renaissance and other Indian modern art movements. Most of his subjects oscillated between events from classical Indian literature including the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas, and the contemporary cinema of his times. He infused a rare blend of artistic virtuosity and filmi glamour to his portrayal of romantic characters like Radha-Krishna, Nala-Damayanti, and Viswamitra-Menaka as also the many heroes and heroines of Hindi cinema. In addition to his critically acclaimed masterpieces he also illustrated many popular film posters, film magazines and various other publications in what can collectively be termed as calendar art. His works remain hugely popular even today. His mythological paintings and calendar art have been collected widely. He is also widely celebrated in the Indian calendar industry for his "realistic" depiction (albeit inspired by contemporary Indian cinema) of themes from Hindu mythology. In these paintings he emphasised the physical forms of the heroes, heroines, gods and goddesses in marked contrast to traditional and classical styles of Indian painting. In his paintings, Pandit depicted his subjects as handsome, muscular, valorous men and sensuously beautiful, voluptuous women set in surroundings suggestive of cinema settings and sceneries.

Born on 25 March 1916, in Gulbarga district of Karnataka state, Pandit became a student of Shankar Rao Alandkar who was also a Sir. J. J. School of Arts product. Subsequently he took his diploma from the Madras School of Art. He came to Mumbai in 1935 and joined Nootan Kala Mandir for further studies under the guidance of Shri G S Dandavathimath and appeared for his Diploma at Sir. J.J. School of Arts where he was taught by renowned teachers like Shri K.B Chudekar. His headmaster at the Sir J.J. School was the famous artist M. V. Dhurandhar known for his use of naturalistic techniques to depict scenes from Indian mythology, History and Classical Literature, a style he inherited from Raja Ravi Varma, and passed on to Pandit. Pandit was also greatly influenced by Capt. W.E. Gladstone Soleman, the then Director of Art in Sir J J School of Arts Mumbai. Pandit subsequently completed his Diploma with distinction.

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