Artwork
Seated Tribesman with Hand to Head
Seated Tribesman with Hand to Head is a paint painting by the Contemporary Realist artist Somnath Hore. It dates from 15 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The work is a swift, gestural painting of a seated figure whose head is bowed, hand supporting his chin as his left knee is raised.
About this work
Overview
The work is a swift, gestural painting of a seated figure whose head is bowed, hand supporting his chin as his left knee is raised. The composition captures a moment of quiet resignation, rendered in a single, fluid execution that suggests an immediate observation of the sitter.
Subject & Meaning
The figure is likely a member of a tribal community inhabiting the hills surrounding Shantiniketan, where the artist lived. The posture, head lowered, hand to head, conveys a sense of fatigue or contemplation, resonating with the artist’s long‑standing focus on human hardship and vulnerability.
Technique & Style
Executed with a rapid, tonal approach, the painting reflects the artist’s earlier sketching practice, where skeletal forms and pronounced ribcages were common. Here, tonal shading replaces the harsher line work of his 1940s pencil studies, softening the figure while retaining a stark, austere presence.
History & Provenance
Created by Somnath Hore (1921‑2006), a Bengali artist whose career began in the 1940s in Calcutta. Hore’s early involvement with the Communist Party and his response to the 1943 Bengal famine shaped his lifelong preoccupation with depicting suffering, a theme evident in this work.
Context
The painting aligns with Hore’s body of work produced during periods of social upheaval, famine, partition, and later political conflicts. It continues his visual documentation of marginalized peoples, echoing images published in wartime periodicals such as Janayuddha and Peoples’ War.
Artist & collection
Artist
Somnath Hore (1921–2006) was an Indian sculptor and printmaker. His sketches, sculptures and prints were a reaction to major historical crises and events of 20th century Bengal, such as the Bengal Famine of 1943 and the…
