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Somnath Hore

Much of Somnath Hore’s artistic practice was fundamentally rooted in exposing the piteous condition and suffering endured by humanity. His humanitarian convictions as an activist artist, he documented pivotal people’s movements such as the land redistribution movement, Tebhaga, which was initiated by the Communist Party. He not only created posters but also started to sketch portraits of those who were involved in the movement, and even those who opposed it, the rural landlords or jotedars. This practice of meticulously capturing faces in detailed portraits was translated into other mediums as well.

During his years in Delhi, where he taught art at the Delhi Polytechnic, Hore’s focus evolved from pure activism toward technical mastery. He began experimenting extensively with printmaking techniques such as etching and drypoint. Inspired by the work of fellow artist, Krishna Reddy and his exhibition of vibrant intaglios, Hore experimented and perfected the technique of etchings including multicolour etchings, which went on to become one of his preferred mediums for a few years.

In this etching, the artist presents an intimate portrait of a couple, with the woman’s face dominating the compositional space while only half of the man’s face remains visible. The man gazes directly at the viewer with a penetrating intensity, while the woman’s eyes are lifted upwards. Their intimacy is conveyed through their touching faces, positioned so naturally within each other’s contours that they appear as perfectly interlocking puzzle pieces – a visual metaphor for their unity.