Goa's Michelangelo
By Vivek Menezes
vmin...@gmail.com
The Goan monsoon arrives heaven-sent, a blessing from the
divine. This year there's more reason for gratitude -- the
rains have brought the return of Dr. Jose Pereira to his
homeland, carrying a stunningly beautiful new suite of
artworks.
'Epiphanies of the Hindu Gods' is on view at the XCHR in
Porvorim from July 24. It is another singular contribution to
our culture from a man who has given us his all for so many
decades.
Jose Pereira's life confounds every stereotype and
pigeonhole. He is conservative Catholic, but also
world-renowned Sanskrit scholar and Indologist.
He's written dozens of books on theology, history,
architecture, language and music, but also steadily
carved out a place for himself alongside our most
significant iconographers.
This is the artist responsible for the only contemporary
example of fresco buono in India, a magnificent tableau
painted on fresh plaster a la Michelangelo, on a groined
vault of the chapel at Borda. It is simply a masterpiece.
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Dr Pereira, while working on his frescoes at Borda, earlier
this decade. Photos: FN
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4817359575/]
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4817982590/]
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But it is these 'Epiphanies of the Hindu Gods' that
permanently underline Dr. Pereira's worth as an artist. The
beautiful pastels have been painted by a man on the cusp of
his nineth decade, despite ongoing health problems caused by
Parkinson's disease.
We would have understood if our tireless polymath
now sat back to appreciate the plaudits he's earned
in his prodigious, peerless scholarly career -- but
Dr. Pereira is not like that. He's unstoppable, and
his genius cannot be shackled. And so we come to
reckon with these lush, epiphanic pastels, painted
by this toweringly great Catholic theologian, in
sincere, devotional tribute to his Hindu patrimony.
In a way, these paintings represent a closing of the great
circle opened when Jose Pereira (b. 1931) embarked on his
studies in Bombay. Already aware of his exceptional
capacities, he spent his mornings studying Sanskrit at
Siddarth College, and the rest of the day immersed in the J.
J. School of Art alongside contemporaries like Tyeb Mehta.
Circumstances led to a stellar scholarly career, but it is
interesting to note that his art practice never went away
altogether. Alongside this historic suite rendered in 2010,
there are other hitherto unknown canvases by Dr. Pereira on
display at the XCHR.
Among them is a superb nude self-portrait from 1946, which
predates the notorious nude self-portrait by another Goan,
Francis Newton Souza, which kick-started the new wave in
modern Indian art. In fact, the entire body of work on
display in Porvorim after July 24, 2010 makes an undeniable
case for Dr. Pereira to be included alongside the great
artists of his generation, much less known but no less
important than Souza, Vasudeo Gaitonde and Laxman Pai.
'Epiphanies of the Hindu Gods' are rendered in a realistic
idiom, which Pereira says "frees the drama in the themes from
the constriction of iconographic formulas."
There is monumental scholarship backing each image.
'Nrttaganapati' is derived from a quotation from Somadeva,
the 11th century saint-poet. The Sesasayi Visnu is based on a
verse by Visakhadatta, the Gupta-era Sanskrit dramatist, and
the Dasavatarasamuha on a description by Vedantadesika, the
13th century Vaishnava guru. Some paintings are based on
Chola sculpture and Thanjavur temple carvings, and others
depict scenes as described in the Ramayana, the Bhagavata
Purana and Gitagovinda.
In his curatorial essay, written for the
paradigm-shifting exhibition 'Aparanta' (Panjim,
2007) the extraordinary art critic and poet Ranjit
Hoskote wrote about finding in Goa "inspired
individuals who defy the apathy of India and the
defeatism of their peers", who work in the context
of "compelling psychic and historical contents that
spur them on to artistic exploration." Though his
paintings were largely unknown at the time Hoskote
curated Aparanta to unprecedented national acclaim,
Dr. Pereira's art fits that description perfectly.
When you consider that these stirring, unforgettable images
have been rendered by a great polymathic scholar at the
summation of a magnificent career devoted to classical India,
the work takes on a transcendent aspect that is ideally
suited to the subject matter.
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Dr Pereira's latest work, on exhibition at XCHR, Porvorim:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4817672252/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4817671566/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4817672252/
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We are lucky to be able to see these instant classics in
ideal conditions at the XCHR, where they are juxtaposed with
Dr. Pereira's previous work. And thus we begin to get the
measure of this remarkable artistic career, with its strands
encompassing both India and the West, the past and the present.
I take this opportunity to offer Dr. Pereira warm personal
congratulations for 'Epiphanies of the Hindu Gods'. Goa is
already indebted to him for his ceaseless, monumental labours
on behalf of our confluential culture that has already
offered so much to the world. This rainy July, we are
overjoyed to confirm his place among our greatest artists.
Earlier published in The Navhind Times.
http://www.navhindtimes.in/iexplore/goan-michelangelo
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The book people are already talking about: Goanetter Selma Carvalho's *Into
the Diaspora Wilderness*. Launch on July 25, 2010 at the UK Goan Festival
[http://goafest.itpsworld.net] Goa launch next month. See
http://selmacarvalho.squarespace.com/ Buy at Broadway's, Panjim [Ph
9822488564] at Rs 295 in Goa. Overseas, postage extra.
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