Every artist goes through many transitions during their life and their art get influenced by every experience. No matter which artist you choose, you will find that his/her art gets influence with passing of time, Pablo Picasso and F.N. Souza is not exception of these transitions. We can find that Picasso initial stage of works were influenced by the realism (1890-1897), it was the time when we find that he painted “Portrait of Aunt Pepa” and “The first communion”. The portrait of aunt pepa is considered as one of the greatest portraits in the Spanish painting history. In 1897 his works start sowing symbolist influence in his realism paintings; in this phase use of the green and non-natural violet color in landscapes show this type of transitions in his works. After 1897 he was getting influenced by the artist of that time, mainly El Gereco.
His blue period paintings show the sadist influence on the artist, a type of symbols of depression or inferior emotional view. Picasso’s Blue Period characterized by somber paintings rendered in shades of blue and blue-green, and only occasionally warmed by other colors. Picasso was influenced by a trip through Spain and by the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas.
The Rose Period (1904–1906) is characterized by a lighter tone and style utilizing orange and pink colors and they mainly focus on the slightly joyful tones.
The other transitions of the Picasso include the African’s periods, analytic cubism and crystal cubism.
While studying the works of Picasso we can easily find that the transitions in the life of artist influenced his works. There were many incidents we can see depicted in his paintings which are result of influence of his experiences.
As of Picasso we can see that Souza paintings are also influence by the experiences he was going through in his life. He most paintings are the examples of raw expressionism. With passing of time in his career he influences the different categories of the paintings with experiment and expressions.
F.N. Souza paintings are not only symbolizing his feelings but they also show the different situations of the society. His expressions are one of the most important parts of his paintings. His painting “Birth” show great understanding of pain of a woman in her pregnancy. The eyes of his subjects convey deep meaning with the viewers.
If we talk about the experiences of the Souza then we will find that most of his time run with the personal guilt and responsibility which he beautifully depicted his works. Whenever an artist bends toward the work of the Souza then he/she find that his works are representation of the society and his complex personality.
In modern era and post Souza times, there are no artists who completely indulge themselves in their paintings but Vikash Kalra work is one of the most nearer to the creativity of the Souza. When I first met him in his studio and asked him “how do you paint and where did you learn these paintings?”
He replied “I never learned anything related to the paintings… I only try to paint my inside feelings on the canvas.”
When we study the work of Kalra, we find transitions and development of Picasso as well as personal representations of the Souza. His paintings are the mix of the two great artists. If I say that he do not create any kind of self describing paintings then I will be wrong because many of his works are the depictions of his feelings and incidents occurring inside his heart.
His fearless and bold depictions of the subjects make his art more beautiful and appealing. According to my knowledge the boldness he got in his paintings is mainly due to the struggles he faced in his past life.
There are many different things which we find common in these three artists. They all paint the different situations of their life as well as they all have same kind of momentum in their works. The fearless strokes of their brushes create bold paintings which do not only challenge the painter but it also challenge the viewer by killing cowardliness present in the heart of viewers.
The three artists belong to the three generations of art but their outlook and representations of subjects make them similar. If you try to learn about the art practice and representation of their works then you will find that they all have similar core of representation of their subjects. They all try to simplify the subjects so that they can paint their soul without any complexity. Picasso’s “Bull” lithograph is the best example of their style.
There are many common things we can find in their art but simultaneously they have many things differ from each other. For instance, the work of Picasso move from transition to transition and Souza works are mainly focus on the depiction of the pain and happiness of the society but Kalra works are the representation of the inner conflicts. The aura of their works different forms each other by their view towards subjects. Although their style is similar but way of catching the soul of the subject is differ.
Vikash Kalra is a self-taught artist and writer based in New Delhi whose work has been exhibited across India and is held in several private and corporate collections.