L'éminent peintre Jogen Chowdhury est décédé à 87 ans

Eminent painter and former Rajya Sabha member Jogen Chowdhury died on Sunday morning, October 25, 2026, at a private hospital in Kolkata. He was 87 years old. The artist had been admitted to the facility on October 16 following a deterioration in his health. Medical staff placed him on ventilator support on Saturday, October 24, before his death. Chowdhury was born on February 15, 1939, in Faridpur, which is now part of Bangladesh. His father, Pramathanath Chowdhury, worked as a landlord, while his mother practiced alpona, a traditional Bengali folk art involving floor and wall painting. The family relocated to Kolkata during the partition. He developed an early interest in drawing and later studied at the Government College of Art and Craft in Kolkata. He continued his education at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In his early career, Chowdhury employed an expressionist style of figuration. His works frequently featured human forms and served as satires on politics and society. He served as Keeper of Art at Rashtrapati Bhawan before joining the faculty at Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan in 1987. In recent years, he contributed to the design of art installations for Durga Puja. Former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee nominated him to the Rajya Sabha on a Trinamool Congress ticket. He represented the party in the Upper House from 2014 to 2020. Political leaders offered condolences upon his passing. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari stated that Chowdhury’s contributions brought international acclaim to the state. Adhikari added that the artist’s departure left an irreparable void in West Bengal’s intellectual and artistic soul. Banerjee described Chowdhury as the pride of Bengal and India, calling him a great inspiration to artists worldwide. She extended her condolences to his family, friends, and admirers globally. Chowdhury received several honors during his life. The Trinamool Congress government awarded him the Banga Bibhushan in 2012, one of the state’s highest civilian distinctions. He also received the Kalidas Samman from the Madhya Pradesh government and was honored at the second Havana Biennale in Cuba. Colleagues reflected on his legacy. Painter Samir Aich described him as a stalwart of contemporary art who consistently supported fellow artists. Sculptor Bimal Kundu noted that Chowdhury’s journey was marked by struggle. Kundu observed that the artist’s work shifted toward greater simplicity after he joined the Visva-Bharati faculty. Tributes included specific references to his creative process. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien shared a painting that took Chowdhury five years to complete following the Nirbhaya tragedy. The Delhi Art Gallery described his technique on its website. It noted that he interpreted the human form through attenuated, exaggerated, and fragmented shapes. The gallery explained that he often placed figures against vacant backgrounds to transfer feelings of anguish through gestural mark-making.