Description :

Madhav Satwalekar (13 August 1915 – 2006) was born in a Maharashtrian Karhade Brahmin family in the city of Lahore in present-day Pakistan. His father, Shripad Damodar Satwalekar, the renowned turn-of-the-century painter and Vedic scholar had a studio in Lahore at that time.

Satwalekar first studied at Sir J.J. School of Art in Bombay, before going to Europe (1937 to 1940) to study at Academia di Belle Arti Firenze, (Italy), Slade School, (London) and Académie de la Grande Chaumière, (Paris). He was recipient of the Mayo Medal, the highest award of the J. J. School of Art in 1935. Satwalekar's first solo exhibition was first held in 1945, at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. During his prolific career, he has had over 30 solo shows in Europe, Middle East, Uganda, Kenya and Zanzibar (1949 - 50) apart from shows in India.

Later in his career, during the 1970s and 1980s, Satwalekar served as the Director of Art for the Indian State of Maharashtra. He also co-founded the Indian Art Institute for spreading awareness of art.

Madhav Satwalekar travelled extensively in India and overseas. During his travels he routinely documented people and places that he observed through his sketches, which inspired the pictorial language in his paintings. Lucid palettes, a decisive draughtsmanship, a command of the varied landscape and of the sensuous female form have been the hallmarks of Satwalekar's meticulously cultivated style. In the 1990’s, he painted a series of works depicting architectural views of Rajasthan with colorfully dressed women, little lambs straying in the village and lively groups of rustic villagers.