Nasik Scene I

Outdoor sketching was part of the curriculum at J.J. School of Arts, as a way for the students to observe and master day light and at the same time develop rapid practice on paper. The artist used to visit Nasik with his students, a region northeast of Bombay, along in the Western Ghats along the Godavari River, and camped there for many weeks.
Trindade’s Nasik depictions – a series of three oils and five watercolours executed in 1930-32 – offer the viewer an interesting interpretation of the Indian landscape and add a curious documental perspective to his work.
A true place of confluence, the Godavari River in the region of Panchavati, Northern Nasik is an important place of pilgrimage to all major religions present in the Subcontinent. Apart from its spiritual significance, Nasik was also famous for its weekly bazaars. The banks of the river Godavari are a buzzing place where daily life and its rituals take place.
The surroundings of Sri Sundar Narayan Mandir, with its congestion of worshipers going about their ritual preparations and nearby commercial activities, provided the painter with lively compositions. Apart from its documental character, Nasik Scenes not only translate the relationship between human and the divine but also their association with architecture and the natural landscape.
Its quick brushstroke and luminous transparency make watercolour the ideal media for daylight outdoor sketching. The artist’s deep understanding of this technique, the vibrancy of his palette and sense of composition upholds Trindade as an outstanding artist.
References: Shihandi, Marcella, et al, António Xavier Trindade: An Indian Painter from Portuguese Goa (exhibition catalogue), Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, 1996; Tavares, Cristina Azevedo et al, António Xavier Trindade: Um Pintor de Goa (exhibition catalogue), Lisbon, Fundação Oriente, 2005; Gracias, Fátima, Faces of Colonial India: The Work of Goan Artist António Xavier Trindade (1870-1935), Panjim, Goa, Fundação Oriente, 2014.