It's not every day one comes across contemporary art that one can call a bargain. In fact, most contemporary art tends to be a little overpriced. But then there is always the exception. In this case, it is the work of Anil Karanjai, one of our more accomplished artists, available at the Art `n' Soul Gallery in New Delhi.

Karanjai is an excellent portrait painter in the realist tradition. An oil on canvas portrait (12x15 inches) is Rs 12,000; 18x24 inches, Rs 15,000; 30x40 inches, Rs 40,000; and 54x60 inches, Rs 1,20,000. His portraiture ranges from a very detailed realism, with the details equalling those of Mughal miniatures in some respect, to surrealist ones. His capacity to do portraits from photographs without making them seem flat is a quality that increases the range of his popularity.

The commissioned portrait does not merely involve sitting down to be painted, though of course, that can be done. It may become a genuine intellectual exercise if the sitter has a dialogue with the artist or takes the trouble to understand what a particular artist's originality is and evolve a portrait that highlights it.

However, by a discussion, one does not mean that the sitter tells the artist what to paint. That may often happen. In fact, I remember my aunt telling me how she got Amrita Shergil to paint her hands with long fingers as she felt her hands were too short and stubby. Amrita laughed at the concerns of the young 18-year-old and gave her long, tapering fingers; I would not, however, advise those having portraits painted to give an artist this type of input. A good portrait is one that is an in-deputy representation of the person being painted or the artist's expression of the encounter. In fact, an artist almost invariably includes some element of his or her feelings in any portrait. So, the sitter must evolve a relationship that inspires the artist to do the best possible.

Also, while oils on canvas, because of their capacity to last long, are the preferred medium for portraiture, Karanjai does portraits of charcoal on paper, 12x15 inches, for Rs 3,000, and 18x24 inches for Rs 6,000; his pastels of the same size are Rs 6,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively. Karanjai's approach is particularly suited to pastels-so, those who commission these will not only be getting something more immediate and spontaneous than oil ever could be, but also works that catch the moment as oils cannot with the same ease. And the price is considerably lower.

Apart from portraits, it is Karanjai's landscapes that are characteristic of his work. These are of two types. Paradigms of the thorn forests of northern India or those with surrealistic faces of humans as the building blocks of monuments that remind one of how a massive mobilisation of individual labourers, stone-masons, carvers and painters was required to build the monuments that dot the landscape of Delhi. This human element reflects both history and ongoing relations in Karanjai's work. If the buildings remind one of the Lodi tombs, the faces on each block of stone make the invisible visible, reminding us that it was labourers who built these tombs and not the Sultans whose names are linked with them.

It is not often that one is able to get the work of a senior artist like Karanjai at such reasonable prices. And when one does, one should not let the opportunity pass by.

Karanjai's charcoals sized 10x14 inches are priced just a little above Rs 2,000, while the landscapes range between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,600. His surrealist landscapes are to be had for around Rs 3,000. These are generally water colours, pastels and charcoal sketches. Oils on canvas are priced as the portraits are.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.