Quamrul Hassan (Bangladeshi, 1921-1988) Untitled (Bathing)Quamrul Hassan (Bangladeshi, 1921-1988)Untitled (Bathing) signed and dated 'Quamrul Hasan' 1958 lower right and B/7 Dacca lower leftwoodcut, framed63.7 x 46cm (25 1/16 x 18 1/8in).ProvenanceThe Artist's Family Collection.ExhibitedExhibited in the National Museum of Bangladesh in 2012.PublishedSyed Azizul Huq, Quamrul Hassan, Bangladesh, 2003, p.101.'Modernist art in Bangladesh began with the arrival, after the Partition of India in 1947, of a group of artists trained at the Calcutta Art School. These artists established an art school in Dacca. With the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, modernist art in the country came into its own and became progressively more experimental, especially with its turn towards the contemporary.' (A.K.M. Khademul Haque, 20th Century Indian Art: Modern, Post-Independence, Contemporary, United Kingdom, 2022, pg. 620) Quamrul 'Potua' Hassan was born in Kolkata and studied art at the Calcutta Government Art School. Whilst studying he partook in numerous social and political activities delaying his graduation by three years. These political and social activities however were not short lived. Instead, they proved to be his lifelong endeavour and their stories featured heavily in his works. Whilst studying for his degree for example he was part of the Forward Block, the anti-fascist Writers and Artists Union, Peoples Theatre Movement and the Bratachari movement; the latter was a movement started with a view to re-establishing the heritage of Bengalis as a rejection and expression of resistance against British colonial rule. It was here that he came across potuas (folk artists) and the traditional pata artists of Bengal. He was attracted to the simplicity of their works, which included their use of basic colours and the spontaneity of their line drawings. Similarly, he was attracted to the art and aesthetics of Jamini Roy (1889-1972) and Nanda Lal Bose (1882-1966), two other artists who propagated traditional art. Despite his admiration for folk arts, he was not immune to the works of Picasso and Matisse, and they too impacted him greatly. Potuas visual language therefore is derived from the marriage between the styles of the East and the West.After graduating he taught art at the Fine Arts Institute, but subsequently left to join the Design Centre where he embarked on a career which focussed on the development and promotion of folk arts and crafts. While working here, he was able to observe the handicrafts and cottage industries of Bangladesh, which further enriched his own works. Over a career spanning decades, Potua is known for his works which synthesise the cubist style with folk forms and depict scenes of intimacy between women and nature and those that comment on political turmoil. In 2012, the National Museum of Bangladesh held an exhibition of his works to commemorate his 90th birth anniversary. The works offered in this auction were all part of that exhibition and come from the collection of the artist's only child, his daughter.In this work, the woman is drying her hair and her water vessel can be seen to the lower right. This work, along with other notable works from this phase which include 'Bathing in a pond for amusement' (pencil, 1962), 'Loneliness' (watercolour, 1962) and 'Bath' (oil, 1966) all featured women in the same posture. The composition is powerful owing to its simplicity. Potua merges traditional Bengali art and their scenes with cubism to create a work that is unmistakably characteristic of his style. This work comes from the second phase of his life where he portrayed women based on his family life, marriage and the birth of his daughter (1961). During this time, he depicted the nude female form and focussed on their inner beauty and emotions.