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{{Infobox artist | {{Infobox artist | ||
| name = K.K.Hebbar | | name = K. K. Hebbar | ||
| image = kkhebbar.jpg | | image = kkhebbar.jpg | ||
| image_size = 210px | | image_size = 210px | ||
| caption = K K Hebbar in Bombay on 11 December 1945. | | caption = K K Hebbar in Bombay on 11 December 1945. | ||
| birth_name = Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar | | birth_name = Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar | ||
| birth_date = 15 June 1911 | | birth_date = 15 June 1911 | ||
| birth_place = | | birth_place = Kattingeri, near [[Udupi]], [[Karnataka]] | ||
| death_date = {{ | | death_date = {{death date and age|26 March 1996|15 June 1911|df=y}} | ||
| death_place = | | death_place = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]] | ||
| nationality = | | nationality = [[India]]n | ||
| field = | | field = | ||
| training = [[ | | training = | ||
| | | awards = [[Padma Bhushan]] (1989)<br>[[List of Lalit Kala Akademi fellows|Fellowship of the Lalit Kala Akademi]] (1976)<br />[[Padma Shri]] (1961) | ||
| known_for = [[Painting]] | |||
| alma_mater = [[Académie Julian|Académie Julian, Paris]]<br>[[Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art|Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai]] | |||
| children = 3 | |||
| spouse = {{marriage|Shusheela Hebbar|1935}} | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar''' (15 June 1911 – 26 March 1996)<ref>{{Cite web|title = K | '''Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar''' (15 June 1911 – 26 March 1996) or '''K. K. Hebbar''' was an Indian painter and art educator. He is well known for his paintings that captured the social life of the common people in India.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=K K Hebbar |url=https://www.saffronart.com/artists/k-k-hebbar |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=Saffronart}}</ref> Inspired by traditional Indian art, he combined the Western art techniques with his paintings to create a unique style of his own. Painting for Hebbar was about being true to the original self and this is what he tried to achieve in his works.<ref name=":8">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Kishore |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/India_Modern/QEH1jgEACAAJ |title=India Modern: Narratives from 20th Century Indian Art |date=2015 |publisher=Delhi Art Gallery |isbn=9789381217535 |location=New Delhi |pages=172–177}}</ref> In addition to his paintings, he is also known for his rhythmic line drawings and illustrations.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=July 14, 2014 |title=KK Hebbar and his singing lines |url=https://www.kokuyocamlin.com/blog/kk-hebbar-and-his-singing-lines.html |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=[[Kokuyo Camlin]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> | ||
= | Hebbar was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] (1961) and [[Padma Bhushan]] (1989) by the [[Government of India]] for his contributions in the field of art.<ref name="Padma Awards" /> | ||
==Early life and education== | |||
Hebbar was born on 15 June 1911 in Kattingeri near [[Udupi]], [[Karnataka]] in a [[Kannada]] speaking [[Madhwa Brahmins|Shivalli Madhwa Brahmin]] family.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Absorption of Hydrocarbon Gases by Non-aqueous Liquids|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mq1mAAAAMAAJ|author=Alonzo Simpson McDaniel|publisher=University of Wisconsin--Madison|year=1990|page=124|quote=Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar was born on 15 June 1912 at Kattingeri, a village in Udupi Taluk of Dakshina Kannada District of coastal Karnataka, in a middle-class Kannada- speaking, Madhwa, Shivalli Brahman family.}}</ref> He was educated up to the age of five at the local [[mission school]]. His father had retired when he was eleven years old. As the family was poor, they made toys, sold them and also made a living from farming. At the age of fourteen, Hebbar got a job at the same school that he had attended.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Thacker |first=Manu |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.26672/ |title=Present-day Painters of India |last2=Venkatachalam |first2=G. |publisher=Sudhangshu Publications |year=1950 |location=Mumbai |pages=27–30}}</ref> While teaching the play [[Shakuntala (play)|''Shakuntala'']] with the help of images, the officer who came to inspect the school noticed Hebbar's artistic talents and encouraged him to take up art education. The latter offered him help and said that if he did not do so, he would suspend him.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1242719488 |title=Encyclopaedia visual art of Maharashtra : artists of the Bombay school and art institutions (late 18th to early 21st century) |date=2021-03-02 |publisher=Pundole Art Gallery |others= |isbn=978-81-89010-11-9 |editor-last=Bahulkar |editor-first=Suhas |edition=1st |location=Mumbai |oclc=1242719488}}</ref> | |||
After matriculation at the age of twenty one, he started his art education at [[Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts|Chamarajendra Technical Institute]] in [[Mysore]]. But after a brief period, Hebbar dropped out of school, tired of the monotonous and arid climate there, and started working for a photographer in Udupi. After seeing Hebbar's work, the photographer advised him to visit [[Mumbai|Bombay]] and study art. Hebbar arrived in Mumbai in 1933 and began his studies at the newly established art school by G. S. Dandavatimath. He worked on retouching and enlargement work at the Koparde Studio located in front of the [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus]]. Subsequently, Hebbar joined [[Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art|Sir J. J. School of Art]] and graduated in 1938 with G. D. in Art.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=कदम |first=ज्योत्स्ना |title=हेब्बर, कृष्ण कट्टिनगेरी |url=https://maharashtranayak.in/haebabara-karsana-katatainagaerai |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=महाराष्ट्र नायक |language=mr}}</ref> In the year that followed, he completed a specialization in mural painting under the mentorship and encouragement of C. R. Gerrard, then director of the School of Art.<ref name=":6" /> | |||
==Career== | ==Career== | ||
Hebbar | Hebbar worked as an art teacher at the Sir J. J. School of Art from 1940 to 1945 and continued to develop his art.<ref name=":0" /> Within a short span of six years, he reached the level of well known Bombay artists. Gerrard had later said,"A combination of being a good teacher as well as a good practicing artist is uncommon and Hebbar has combined these rare qualities."<ref name=":6" /> After that, Hebbar remained in constant touch with art institutes at different levels and emphasized on the importance of discipline in education.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=कदम |first=ज्योत्स्ना |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0_%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B6_%E0%A4%96%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A1_%E0%A5%AC_-_%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BE.pdf&page=647 |title=शिल्पकार चरित्रकोश खंड ६ - दृश्यकला |publisher=साप्ताहिक विवेक, हिंदुस्थान प्रकाशन संस्था |year=2013 |editor-last=बहुळकर |editor-first=सुहास |edition=1st |location=मुंबई |pages=582–585 |language=mr |trans-title=Artist's Encyclopedia Vol. 6 - Visual Arts |format=PDF |editor-last2=घारे |editor-first2=दीपक}}</ref> He also presided at several important positions which included the role of chairman at the Artists' Centre, Mumbai (1953-73)<ref>{{Cite web |title=K.K. Hebbar {{!}} JNAF |url=https://jnaf.org/artist/k-k-hebbar/ |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=jnaf.org}}</ref> and at the [[Lalit Kala Akademi]], Delhi (1980-84).<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=K. K. Hebbar – Hebbar Gallery |url=https://hebbargalleryandartscentre.com/kk-hebbar/ |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=Hebbar Gallery and Arts Centre |language=en-US}}</ref> | ||
=== Influences === | |||
During the initial days of his career, Hebbar was influenced by the two-dimensional color scheme and line quality of the Indian miniature style. He drew inspiration from various sources including the writings of art historian [[Ananda Coomaraswamy]], art of [[Jain art#Paintings|Jain manuscripts]], [[Rajput painting|Rajput]] and [[Mughal painting|Mughal]] miniatures, and the murals at the [[Ajanta Caves]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=K. K. HEBBAR {{!}} DAG |url=https://dagworld.com/artists/k-k-hebbar/ |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=Delhi Art Gallery |language=en-US}}</ref> When he met [[Amrita Sher-Gil]] in 1939, he was fascinated to see the confluence of Western art techniques with traditional Indian art in her paintings. In 1946, he saw dark brown figures in white clothes on the green fields of Kerala during a study tour in South India. He was reminded of the paintings of [[Paul Gauguin]] during his stay in [[Brittany]]. After returning to Bombay, he painted a series based on the memories of this tour. Hebbar then traveled to Europe in 1949-50 where he got the opportunity to study Western art. He took a painting course at the [[Académie Julian]] in [[Paris]] for twenty weeks.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last=Hebbar |first=K. K. |last2=Clerk |first2=S. I. |date=1978 |title=A Memoir on the Work of a Painter in India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1573496 |journal=Leonardo |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=3–7 |doi=10.2307/1573496 |issn=0024-094X}}</ref> | |||
[[File:Untitled - K. K. Hebbar.jpg|alt=Painting by K. K. Hebbar|thumb|One of the early paintings (1945) by K. K. Hebbar inspired by the style of Indian miniature paintings]] | |||
However, after returning from the trip abroad he said,"I was in a somewhat restless and confused state of mind. I've now decided that I'll restart painting from where I'd left off, combining the western elements as and when required."<ref name=":1" /> After returning to India, he stayed in [[Mahabaleshwar]] for a year due to difficult personal situation. Here he began to develop his style differently and more openly as an artist, wherein he combined different elements with his paintings.<ref name=":3" /> | |||
Moreover, Hebbar was also well versed in music and dance. He himself had learned [[Kathak]] from [[Sunder Prasad|Pandit Sunder Prasad]] for two years.<ref name=":2" /> He even performed once at the [[Royal Opera House (Mumbai)|Royal Opera House]] in Mumbai.<ref>{{Cite web |title=K K HEBBAR (1911 - 1996) |url=http://auctions.bidandhammer.com/k-k-hebbar-4 |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=Bid and Hammer}}</ref> This knowledge about dance influenced a lot of his work, including the well known line art based drawings that he had created. In his 1961 book ''The Singing Line'', various fluid creations of his line art can be seen.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saffronart |title=THE SINGING LINE: DRAWINGS BY KK HEBBAR. WORDS BY MULK RAJ ANAND - |url=https://www.storyltd.com/auction/item.aspx?eid=4036 |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=www.storyltd.com |language=en}}</ref> | |||
=== Style === | |||
Gradually, his style of painting became free and a personality began to emerge. His paintings appeared to have evolved in stages. In the early days, his paintings were somewhat realistic. By the year 1959, Hebbar discovered a linear rhythm and he began to search for his own personality in the lives of ordinary people. Variety is found in these lines and in the pictures drawn by applying the colors directly from the tube. These lines do not give realistic details. They rearrange to express specific emotions through the natural formation of human or other shapes. Such a rhythm is seen in all his paintings. In order to achieve a certain visual effect in the pictures, he used color in a special way. In his paintings, it seems that a different expression of color is achieved by adding one layer of color over another, enhancing the imagery of his work.<ref name=":1" /> On the creations of Hebbar, art critic Rudolf Von Leyden had said:<blockquote>Mr. Hebbar and his contemporaries in India have no easy life. Their artistic pilgrimage through arid valleys without clear vistas of their target that makes sincere efforts like those of Mr. Hebbar doubly welcome and refreshing.<ref name=":6" /></blockquote>The events and objects that he studied from real life were organized in unusual compositions.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Sadwelkar |first=Baburao |editor-last=Doshi |editor-first=Dr. Saryu |title=Contemporary Art |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.calcutta.06879/ |journal=[[Marg (magazine)|Marg]] |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=65–80}}</ref> His approach was inclined towards a decorative depiction of the subject rather an evocative one. He focused on reducing the form and color to the simplest level possible.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Raman |first=A. S. |date=1952 |title=ART IN INDIA TODAY |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29757988 |journal=East and West |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=21–28 |issn=0012-8376}}</ref> With a textural aspect to his colors, he combined the classical and representational forms of image making in his paintings. Overall, the fluidity, grace and rhythm of the miniature paintings was seen in his line art as well.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Raman |first=A. S. |date=1 August 1984 |title=Contemporary Indian Artists |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_indian-and-foreign-review_1974-08-01_11_20/ |journal=[[Indian and Foreign Review]] |volume=11 |issue=20 |pages=16}}</ref> | |||
=== Themes === | |||
Hebber was brought up in a village where people celebrated traditional festivals and performed rich folk dances. Thereby, his early paintings depicted the association with rural life and the environment in South Kanara.<ref name=":6" /> People toiling in the farms, rural men and women engaged in dancing, villagers performing prayers on the occasion of the festival - such subjects were a common feature in his artworks.<ref name=":2" /> His early artworks were called his ''Kerala'' phase because of his depiction of the landscapes of the regions of [[Malabar (Northern Kerala)|Malabar]] and [[Tulu Nadu]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Citi India Corporate Collection {{!}} K K Hebbar |url=https://www.online.citibank.co.in/kk-hebbar.html |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=[[Citibank India]]}}</ref> | |||
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| author = —K. K. Hebbar | |||
| source = India Modern: Narratives From 20th Century Indian Art<ref name=":8">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Kishore |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/India_Modern/QEH1jgEACAAJ |title=India Modern: Narratives from 20th Century Indian Art |date=2015 |publisher=Delhi Art Gallery |isbn=9789381217535 |location=New Delhi |pages=172–177}}</ref> | |||
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Later, he started experimenting with other themes. His paintings from the post-1970 period seem to reveal the reality of life. He was constantly aware of what was happening in the world around him, and his reaction is reflected in his pictures. He was more interested in man and his society as well as nature. As a result, his pictures emerged from various events in daily life. The horrors of the floods in Bangladesh, accidents, the horrors of the Gulf Wars etc. were some of the burning issues that he painted with uneasiness. He was also intrigued by the ever-expanding scientific discoveries that led to the creation of paintings such as ''Rocket'' and ''Birth of a Moon''. During the last years, he painted on the subject of ''energy'', where he tried to portray the five [[Classical element|classical elements]] that influenced the formation of the earth.<ref name=":3" /> | |||
==Awards== | ==Work== | ||
Hebbar won many awards throughout his lifetime including India's fourth and third highest civilian awards the | Some of the notable paintings of Hebbar are ''Hill station'' (1931), ''Karla Caves'', ''Maidenhood'', ''Beggars'' (1955), ''Cock Fight'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kamat's Potpourri: Art of K.K. Hebbar |url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/art/hebbar/cock_fight_40537.htm |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=www.kamat.com}}</ref> ''Hungry Soul'' (1952),<ref>{{Cite web |title=K.K. Hebbar {{!}} Hungry Soul (1952) |url=https://www.artsy.net/artwork/kk-hebbar-hungry-soul |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=www.artsy.net}}</ref> ''Folk Rhythm'' (1962), ''Storm'' (1969), ''Homage to Indian Music'' (1971), ''Full Moon'' (1972)<ref name=":9" /> among many others. | ||
[[File:Hill station - K. K. Hebbar.jpg|alt=Painting by K. K. Hebbar|thumb|''Hill station'' (1931) by K. K. Hebbar]] | |||
Hebbar was commissioned by the Government of India to create paintings based on the achievements of [[Indian Army]] during the Italian campaign.<ref name=":6" /> His portraits of [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] as well as fifty one line drawings on [[Cilappatikaram]] were published in [[The Illustrated Weekly of India]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Silappadikaram line drawings by K. K. Hebbar (1964) |url=http://auctions.bidandhammer.com/silappadikaram-kk-hebbar-drawings |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=Bid and Hammer}}</ref> His artworks are in the short film ''Tulsidas'' produced by the [[Films Division of India]] where he has unfolded the entire biography of [[Tulsidas]] effectively, mainly through drawings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tulsidas |url=https://filmsdivision.org/search/view.php?id=006444 |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=Films Division of India}}</ref> | |||
=== Major exhibitions === | |||
Hebbar's paintings were exhibited in several exhibitions at home and abroad. His painting ''Women Bathing'' was showcased at the international exhibition organized by [[UNESCO]] at the [[Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris]] in 1946.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www-oxfordreference-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/view/10.1093/acref/9780199923014.001.0001/acref-9780199923014-e-1123 |title=Benezit Dictionary of Asian Artists |date=2012 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-992301-4 |editor-last=Kember |editor-first=Pamela |edition=1st |location=Oxford |chapter=Hebbar, Krishna |oclc=796933183}}</ref> After the [[Bombay Progressive Artists' Group]], the Bombay Group followed which included artists like Hebbar, [[Laxman Pai]], [[D. G. Kulkarni]], [[Mohan Samant]], [[Baburao Sadwelkar]] and Shiavax Chavda to name a few. This group organized six major exhibitions from 1957 to 1962 which was well received by the art community.<ref name=":7" /> Hebbar gained international recognition at the ''Art Now in India'' exhibitions in 1965 which were held in [[London]] and [[Brussels]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=K. K. Hebbar |url=https://artiana.com/Artist/K-K-Hebbar |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=Artiana}}</ref> He also participated in various international art exhibitions like the [[Salon de Mai]] (1951),<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Khanna |first=Balraj |url=https://archive.org/details/artofmodernindia0000khan/ |title=Art of Modern India |date=1998 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |others=Aziz Kurtha |isbn=0-500-23755-7 |location=London |pages=133 |oclc=39299716}}</ref> [[Venice Biennale]] (1955), [[São Paulo Art Biennial]] (1959)<ref>{{Cite web |title=K K Hebbar {{!}} The Indian Portrait |url=http://www.theindianportrait.com/artwork/k-k-hebbar/ |access-date=2022-06-13 |language=en}}</ref> and [[Tokyo Biennale '70: Between Man and Matter|Tokyo Biennale]] (1970).<ref name=":12" /> A retrospective of his works was held in 1971 at the Rabindra Bhavan in Delhi.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
=== Public collections === | |||
Hebber's portrait of [[Abul Kalam Azad]] is housed in the [[Parliament House, New Delhi]]. Other public collections in India include the [[National Gallery of Modern Art]], [[Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh]], [[Venkatappa Art Gallery|Venkatappa Art Gallery, Bangalore]], [[Government Museum, Bangalore]], [[Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata]], [[Tata Institute of Fundamental Research|Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai]], Birla Academy of Fine Arts, and Delhi Art Gallery to name a few.<ref name=":10" /> Overseas, Hebbar's paintings are present in museums of [[Russia]], [[Poland]], [[Czechoslovakia]], Commonwealth Collection in [[Australia]] and the [[Staten Island Museum]] in the [[United States]].<ref name=":4" /> | |||
=== Awards and recognition === | |||
Hebbar won many awards throughout his lifetime including India's fourth and third highest civilian awards, the Padma Shri (1961) and the Padma Bhushan (1989) respectively.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web |date=2015 |title=Padma Awards |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India}}</ref> His other awards include Gold Medal of the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata (1941),<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 February 1941 |title=Long Overdue |pages=11, 14 |work=[[The Bombay Chronicle]] |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.13749/ |access-date=13 June 2022}}</ref> Gold Medal of the [[Bombay Art Society]] (1947),<ref name=":5" /> the Bombay State Art Exhibtion Award (1956), the Lalit Kala Akademi Award (thrice, from 1956-58),<ref name=":5" /> an honorary [[D. Litt]] from [[University of Mysore]] (1976), [[List of Lalit Kala Akademi fellows|Fellowship of Lalit Kala Akademi]] (1976),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-06-15 |title=Lalit Kala Akademi Fellows |url=http://lalitkala.gov.in/recognition/fellows.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615063915/http://lalitkala.gov.in/recognition/fellows.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-06-15 |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=[[Lalit Kala Akademi]]}}</ref> Soviet Land Nehru Award (1983), Maharashtra ''Shasan'' ''Gaurav Puraskar'' (1990) and [[Varnashilpi Venkatappa Award]] by [[Government of Karnataka]] (1994).<ref name=":4" /> | |||
==Personal life== | |||
Hebbar married Shusheela in 1935 and had one son, Ranna and two daughters, Rekha and Rajani.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |first= |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.176016/page/n5/mode/2up |title=India Who's Who 1980-81 |publisher=INFA Publications |edition=12th |location=New Delhi |pages=78–79}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite news |last=Govindarajan |first=Nirmala |date=2015-11-12 |title=An advantage for artists |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/art/the-kk-hebbar-art-foundation-enables-artists-to-find-their-footing/article7869611.ece |access-date=2022-06-14 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Rekha Rao is a contemporary painter<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Me |url=https://www.rekhahebbarrao.com/about |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=Rekha Hebbar Rao |language=en}}</ref> whereas Rajani Prasanna is an art historian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hebbar’s life experiences etched into art and film |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2012/jul/05/hebbars-life-experiences-etched-into-art-and-film-383645.html |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=The New Indian Express}}</ref> | |||
== Death and legacy == | |||
Hebbar died on 26 March 1996 in Mumbai after a two-year prolonged illness.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KK Hebbar |url=https://mapacademy.io/article/kk-hebbar/ |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=MAP Academy |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Film on Hebbar languishes in the cans - The Times of India |url=http://www.cscsarchive.org/MediaArchive/art.nsf/(docid)/D31BC61A004C3AF6652569420028A191?OpenDocument |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=www.cscsarchive.org}}</ref> The K. K. Hebbar Foundation has been established in his name which provides scholarships to six students each year, honors veteran painters, and organizes art workshops.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":11" /> Three-day birth centenary celebrations of Hebbar were held at his birthplace Kattingeri in September 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |title=K K Hebbar birth Centenary from Sep 16 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/889912794 |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=[[ProQuest]] |language=en}}</ref> A retrospective of his works was exhibited at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi in the end of 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Artist's Quest: K K Hebbar A Retrospective |url=http://ngmaindia.gov.in/artist-k-k-hebbar-a-retrospective.asp |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=[[National Gallery of Modern Art]]}}</ref> The show was curated by his daughters Rekha & Rajani which also included documentary screenings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Retrospective of modern pioneer K.K. Hebbar opens |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/905228668 |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=[[ProQuest]] |language=en}}</ref> | |||
[[File:The Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri Jawhar Sircar lighting the lamp to inaugurate an exhibition “An Artist’s Quest K.K. Hebbar – A Retrospective”, in New Delhi on November 22, 2011.jpg|alt=Inauguration of K. K. Hebbar's retrospective|thumb|Inauguration of K. K. Hebbar's retrospective at NGMA, New Delhi in 2011 with (left to right) Rekha Rao, [[Krishen Khanna]] and Jawhar Sircar, then Secretary of [[Ministry of Culture (India)|Ministry of Culture]].]] | |||
A three-day festival as a tribute to Hebbar was organized in 2012, with talks and documentary screenings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A tribute paid to artist KK Hebbar |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2012/jun/27/a-tribute-paid-to-artist-kk-hebbar-381078.html |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=The New Indian Express}}</ref> The Hebbar Gallery and Art Centre (HGAC) was established in 2016<ref>{{Cite news |others=Special Correspondent |date=2016-06-24 |title=Hebbar Gallery inaugurated |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/Hebbar-Gallery-inaugurated/article14400256.ece |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> to promote the teaching pedagogy of Hebbar and enable cross-disciplinary engagement with artists and other cultural practitioners in and around the region of South Canara.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Gallery – Hebbar Gallery |url=https://hebbargalleryandartscentre.com/the-gallery/ |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=Hebbar Gallery and Arts Centre |language=en-US}}</ref> Celebration of his 110th birth anniversary took place in 2021 with programmes on his life and works.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Celebrating KK Hebbar |url=https://bangaloreinternationalcentre.org/event/celebrating-kk-hebbar/ |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=Bangalore International Centre |language=en-GB}}</ref> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
| Line 48: | Line 84: | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[ | {{Commons category|Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar}} | ||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsiWGO7iKa0 Tulsidas] by Films Division of India with illustrations by Hebbar on [[YouTube]] | |||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scG51Ty5LTE Documentary] by K. K. Hebbar Art Foundation on YouTube | |||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q7Aepb8E9E Documentary] by Government of Karnataka on YouTube | |||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MJkclqFNgs 110th birth anniversary] celebration programme on YouTube | |||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIPT_47K9aM Documentary] by Films Division of India about Art in India featuring Hebbar on YouTube | |||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVGZwGiWJwE Interview] with [[All India Radio]] Bengaluru on YouTube (in [[Kannada]]) | |||
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1980–89}} | {{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1980–89}} | ||
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}} | |||
{{Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi}} | {{Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi}} | ||
{{Authority control}} | {{Authority control}} | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hebbar, Kattingeri Krishna}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Hebbar, Kattingeri Krishna}} | ||
Latest revision as of 01:50, 29 June 2022
K. K. Hebbar | |
|---|---|
![]() K K Hebbar in Bombay on 11 December 1945. | |
| Born | Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar 15 June 1911 |
| Died | 26 March 1996 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | Académie Julian, Paris Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai |
| Known for | Painting |
| Spouse(s) | Shusheela Hebbar ( m. 1935) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (1989) Fellowship of the Lalit Kala Akademi (1976) Padma Shri (1961) |
Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar (15 June 1911 – 26 March 1996) or K. K. Hebbar was an Indian painter and art educator. He is well known for his paintings that captured the social life of the common people in India.[1] Inspired by traditional Indian art, he combined the Western art techniques with his paintings to create a unique style of his own. Painting for Hebbar was about being true to the original self and this is what he tried to achieve in his works.[2] In addition to his paintings, he is also known for his rhythmic line drawings and illustrations.[3]
Hebbar was awarded the Padma Shri (1961) and Padma Bhushan (1989) by the Government of India for his contributions in the field of art.[4]
Early life and education[edit | edit source]
Hebbar was born on 15 June 1911 in Kattingeri near Udupi, Karnataka in a Kannada speaking Shivalli Madhwa Brahmin family.[5] He was educated up to the age of five at the local mission school. His father had retired when he was eleven years old. As the family was poor, they made toys, sold them and also made a living from farming. At the age of fourteen, Hebbar got a job at the same school that he had attended.[6] While teaching the play Shakuntala with the help of images, the officer who came to inspect the school noticed Hebbar's artistic talents and encouraged him to take up art education. The latter offered him help and said that if he did not do so, he would suspend him.[7]
After matriculation at the age of twenty one, he started his art education at Chamarajendra Technical Institute in Mysore. But after a brief period, Hebbar dropped out of school, tired of the monotonous and arid climate there, and started working for a photographer in Udupi. After seeing Hebbar's work, the photographer advised him to visit Bombay and study art. Hebbar arrived in Mumbai in 1933 and began his studies at the newly established art school by G. S. Dandavatimath. He worked on retouching and enlargement work at the Koparde Studio located in front of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. Subsequently, Hebbar joined Sir J. J. School of Art and graduated in 1938 with G. D. in Art.[8] In the year that followed, he completed a specialization in mural painting under the mentorship and encouragement of C. R. Gerrard, then director of the School of Art.[6]
Career[edit | edit source]
Hebbar worked as an art teacher at the Sir J. J. School of Art from 1940 to 1945 and continued to develop his art.[1] Within a short span of six years, he reached the level of well known Bombay artists. Gerrard had later said,"A combination of being a good teacher as well as a good practicing artist is uncommon and Hebbar has combined these rare qualities."[6] After that, Hebbar remained in constant touch with art institutes at different levels and emphasized on the importance of discipline in education.[9] He also presided at several important positions which included the role of chairman at the Artists' Centre, Mumbai (1953-73)[10] and at the Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi (1980-84).[11]
Influences[edit | edit source]
During the initial days of his career, Hebbar was influenced by the two-dimensional color scheme and line quality of the Indian miniature style. He drew inspiration from various sources including the writings of art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy, art of Jain manuscripts, Rajput and Mughal miniatures, and the murals at the Ajanta Caves.[12] When he met Amrita Sher-Gil in 1939, he was fascinated to see the confluence of Western art techniques with traditional Indian art in her paintings. In 1946, he saw dark brown figures in white clothes on the green fields of Kerala during a study tour in South India. He was reminded of the paintings of Paul Gauguin during his stay in Brittany. After returning to Bombay, he painted a series based on the memories of this tour. Hebbar then traveled to Europe in 1949-50 where he got the opportunity to study Western art. He took a painting course at the Académie Julian in Paris for twenty weeks.[13]

However, after returning from the trip abroad he said,"I was in a somewhat restless and confused state of mind. I've now decided that I'll restart painting from where I'd left off, combining the western elements as and when required."[7] After returning to India, he stayed in Mahabaleshwar for a year due to difficult personal situation. Here he began to develop his style differently and more openly as an artist, wherein he combined different elements with his paintings.[9]
Moreover, Hebbar was also well versed in music and dance. He himself had learned Kathak from Pandit Sunder Prasad for two years.[8] He even performed once at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai.[14] This knowledge about dance influenced a lot of his work, including the well known line art based drawings that he had created. In his 1961 book The Singing Line, various fluid creations of his line art can be seen.[15]
Style[edit | edit source]
Gradually, his style of painting became free and a personality began to emerge. His paintings appeared to have evolved in stages. In the early days, his paintings were somewhat realistic. By the year 1959, Hebbar discovered a linear rhythm and he began to search for his own personality in the lives of ordinary people. Variety is found in these lines and in the pictures drawn by applying the colors directly from the tube. These lines do not give realistic details. They rearrange to express specific emotions through the natural formation of human or other shapes. Such a rhythm is seen in all his paintings. In order to achieve a certain visual effect in the pictures, he used color in a special way. In his paintings, it seems that a different expression of color is achieved by adding one layer of color over another, enhancing the imagery of his work.[7] On the creations of Hebbar, art critic Rudolf Von Leyden had said:
Mr. Hebbar and his contemporaries in India have no easy life. Their artistic pilgrimage through arid valleys without clear vistas of their target that makes sincere efforts like those of Mr. Hebbar doubly welcome and refreshing.[6]
The events and objects that he studied from real life were organized in unusual compositions.[16] His approach was inclined towards a decorative depiction of the subject rather an evocative one. He focused on reducing the form and color to the simplest level possible.[17] With a textural aspect to his colors, he combined the classical and representational forms of image making in his paintings. Overall, the fluidity, grace and rhythm of the miniature paintings was seen in his line art as well.[18]
Themes[edit | edit source]
Hebber was brought up in a village where people celebrated traditional festivals and performed rich folk dances. Thereby, his early paintings depicted the association with rural life and the environment in South Kanara.[6] People toiling in the farms, rural men and women engaged in dancing, villagers performing prayers on the occasion of the festival - such subjects were a common feature in his artworks.[8] His early artworks were called his Kerala phase because of his depiction of the landscapes of the regions of Malabar and Tulu Nadu.[19]
—K. K. Hebbar, India Modern: Narratives From 20th Century Indian Art[2]
Later, he started experimenting with other themes. His paintings from the post-1970 period seem to reveal the reality of life. He was constantly aware of what was happening in the world around him, and his reaction is reflected in his pictures. He was more interested in man and his society as well as nature. As a result, his pictures emerged from various events in daily life. The horrors of the floods in Bangladesh, accidents, the horrors of the Gulf Wars etc. were some of the burning issues that he painted with uneasiness. He was also intrigued by the ever-expanding scientific discoveries that led to the creation of paintings such as Rocket and Birth of a Moon. During the last years, he painted on the subject of energy, where he tried to portray the five classical elements that influenced the formation of the earth.[9]
Work[edit | edit source]
Some of the notable paintings of Hebbar are Hill station (1931), Karla Caves, Maidenhood, Beggars (1955), Cock Fight,[20] Hungry Soul (1952),[21] Folk Rhythm (1962), Storm (1969), Homage to Indian Music (1971), Full Moon (1972)[13] among many others.

Hebbar was commissioned by the Government of India to create paintings based on the achievements of Indian Army during the Italian campaign.[6] His portraits of John F. Kennedy and Jawaharlal Nehru as well as fifty one line drawings on Cilappatikaram were published in The Illustrated Weekly of India.[22] His artworks are in the short film Tulsidas produced by the Films Division of India where he has unfolded the entire biography of Tulsidas effectively, mainly through drawings.[23]
Major exhibitions[edit | edit source]
Hebbar's paintings were exhibited in several exhibitions at home and abroad. His painting Women Bathing was showcased at the international exhibition organized by UNESCO at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris in 1946.[24] After the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group, the Bombay Group followed which included artists like Hebbar, Laxman Pai, D. G. Kulkarni, Mohan Samant, Baburao Sadwelkar and Shiavax Chavda to name a few. This group organized six major exhibitions from 1957 to 1962 which was well received by the art community.[16] Hebbar gained international recognition at the Art Now in India exhibitions in 1965 which were held in London and Brussels.[25] He also participated in various international art exhibitions like the Salon de Mai (1951),[26] Venice Biennale (1955), São Paulo Art Biennial (1959)[27] and Tokyo Biennale (1970).[19] A retrospective of his works was held in 1971 at the Rabindra Bhavan in Delhi.[7]
Public collections[edit | edit source]
Hebber's portrait of Abul Kalam Azad is housed in the Parliament House, New Delhi. Other public collections in India include the National Gallery of Modern Art, Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, Venkatappa Art Gallery, Bangalore, Government Museum, Bangalore, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Birla Academy of Fine Arts, and Delhi Art Gallery to name a few.[28] Overseas, Hebbar's paintings are present in museums of Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Commonwealth Collection in Australia and the Staten Island Museum in the United States.[11]
Awards and recognition[edit | edit source]
Hebbar won many awards throughout his lifetime including India's fourth and third highest civilian awards, the Padma Shri (1961) and the Padma Bhushan (1989) respectively.[4] His other awards include Gold Medal of the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata (1941),[29] Gold Medal of the Bombay Art Society (1947),[26] the Bombay State Art Exhibtion Award (1956), the Lalit Kala Akademi Award (thrice, from 1956-58),[26] an honorary D. Litt from University of Mysore (1976), Fellowship of Lalit Kala Akademi (1976),[30] Soviet Land Nehru Award (1983), Maharashtra Shasan Gaurav Puraskar (1990) and Varnashilpi Venkatappa Award by Government of Karnataka (1994).[11]
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Hebbar married Shusheela in 1935 and had one son, Ranna and two daughters, Rekha and Rajani.[28][31] Rekha Rao is a contemporary painter[32] whereas Rajani Prasanna is an art historian.[33]
Death and legacy[edit | edit source]
Hebbar died on 26 March 1996 in Mumbai after a two-year prolonged illness.[34][35] The K. K. Hebbar Foundation has been established in his name which provides scholarships to six students each year, honors veteran painters, and organizes art workshops.[9][31] Three-day birth centenary celebrations of Hebbar were held at his birthplace Kattingeri in September 2011.[36] A retrospective of his works was exhibited at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi in the end of 2011.[37] The show was curated by his daughters Rekha & Rajani which also included documentary screenings.[38]

A three-day festival as a tribute to Hebbar was organized in 2012, with talks and documentary screenings.[39] The Hebbar Gallery and Art Centre (HGAC) was established in 2016[40] to promote the teaching pedagogy of Hebbar and enable cross-disciplinary engagement with artists and other cultural practitioners in and around the region of South Canara.[41] Celebration of his 110th birth anniversary took place in 2021 with programmes on his life and works.[42]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "K K Hebbar". Saffronart. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Singh, Kishore (2015). India Modern: Narratives from 20th Century Indian Art. New Delhi: Delhi Art Gallery. pp. 172–177. ISBN 9789381217535.
- ↑ "KK Hebbar and his singing lines". Kokuyo Camlin. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ↑ Alonzo Simpson McDaniel (1990). The Absorption of Hydrocarbon Gases by Non-aqueous Liquids. University of Wisconsin--Madison. p. 124.
Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar was born on 15 June 1912 at Kattingeri, a village in Udupi Taluk of Dakshina Kannada District of coastal Karnataka, in a middle-class Kannada- speaking, Madhwa, Shivalli Brahman family.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Thacker, Manu; Venkatachalam, G. (1950). Present-day Painters of India. Mumbai: Sudhangshu Publications. pp. 27–30.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Bahulkar, Suhas, ed. (2 March 2021). Encyclopaedia visual art of Maharashtra : artists of the Bombay school and art institutions (late 18th to early 21st century) (1st ed.). Mumbai: Pundole Art Gallery. ISBN 978-81-89010-11-9. OCLC 1242719488.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 कदम, ज्योत्स्ना. "हेब्बर, कृष्ण कट्टिनगेरी". महाराष्ट्र नायक (in मराठी). Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 कदम, ज्योत्स्ना (2013). बहुळकर, सुहास; घारे, दीपक (eds.). शिल्पकार चरित्रकोश खंड ६ - दृश्यकला [Artist's Encyclopedia Vol. 6 - Visual Arts] (PDF) (in मराठी) (1st ed.). मुंबई: साप्ताहिक विवेक, हिंदुस्थान प्रकाशन संस्था. pp. 582–585.
- ↑ "K.K. Hebbar | JNAF". jnaf.org. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "K. K. Hebbar – Hebbar Gallery". Hebbar Gallery and Arts Centre. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ↑ "K. K. HEBBAR | DAG". Delhi Art Gallery. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Hebbar, K. K.; Clerk, S. I. (1978). "A Memoir on the Work of a Painter in India". Leonardo. 11 (1): 3–7. doi:10.2307/1573496. ISSN 0024-094X.
- ↑ "K K HEBBAR (1911 - 1996)". Bid and Hammer. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ Saffronart. "THE SINGING LINE: DRAWINGS BY KK HEBBAR. WORDS BY MULK RAJ ANAND -". www.storyltd.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Sadwelkar, Baburao. Doshi, Dr. Saryu (ed.). "Contemporary Art". Marg. 36 (4): 65–80.
- ↑ Raman, A. S. (1952). "ART IN INDIA TODAY". East and West. 3 (1): 21–28. ISSN 0012-8376.
- ↑ Raman, A. S. (1 August 1984). "Contemporary Indian Artists". Indian and Foreign Review. 11 (20): 16.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Citi India Corporate Collection | K K Hebbar". Citibank India. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ↑ "Kamat's Potpourri: Art of K.K. Hebbar". www.kamat.com. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "K.K. Hebbar | Hungry Soul (1952)". www.artsy.net. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "Silappadikaram line drawings by K. K. Hebbar (1964)". Bid and Hammer. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "Tulsidas". Films Division of India. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ↑ Kember, Pamela, ed. (2012). "Hebbar, Krishna". Benezit Dictionary of Asian Artists (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-992301-4. OCLC 796933183.
{{cite book}}: Wikipedia Library link in(help)|url= - ↑ "K. K. Hebbar". Artiana. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Khanna, Balraj (1998). Art of Modern India. Aziz Kurtha. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 133. ISBN 0-500-23755-7. OCLC 39299716.
- ↑ "K K Hebbar | The Indian Portrait". Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 India Who's Who 1980-81 (12th ed.). New Delhi: INFA Publications. pp. 78–79.
- ↑ "Long Overdue". The Bombay Chronicle. 2 February 1941. pp. 11, 14. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ↑ "Lalit Kala Akademi Fellows". Lalit Kala Akademi. 15 June 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Govindarajan, Nirmala (12 November 2015). "An advantage for artists". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "About Me". Rekha Hebbar Rao. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ↑ "Hebbar's life experiences etched into art and film". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "KK Hebbar". MAP Academy. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "Film on Hebbar languishes in the cans - The Times of India". www.cscsarchive.org. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "K K Hebbar birth Centenary from Sep 16". ProQuest. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "Artist's Quest: K K Hebbar A Retrospective". National Gallery of Modern Art. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "Retrospective of modern pioneer K.K. Hebbar opens". ProQuest. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "A tribute paid to artist KK Hebbar". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ↑ "Hebbar Gallery inaugurated". The Hindu. Special Correspondent. 24 June 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ↑ "The Gallery – Hebbar Gallery". Hebbar Gallery and Arts Centre. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ↑ "Celebrating KK Hebbar". Bangalore International Centre. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Tulsidas by Films Division of India with illustrations by Hebbar on YouTube
- Documentary by K. K. Hebbar Art Foundation on YouTube
- Documentary by Government of Karnataka on YouTube
- 110th birth anniversary celebration programme on YouTube
- Documentary by Films Division of India about Art in India featuring Hebbar on YouTube
- Interview with All India Radio Bengaluru on YouTube (in Kannada)
