The many worlds of Manickam Senathipathi’s inventive journey got here to a profoundly transferring trajectory in the last canvas he painted at the Artists Village of Cholamandal on Saturday, May 10, 2025.
He referred to as it ‘Christ’, symbolising maybe the latest elevation of a brand new Pope to the highest pastoral seat of the Catholic Church. The imagery is bathed in the celestial blue of crosses rising out of the patterned earth in greens, in addition to the browns of a canopied umbrella that extends over the central kinds.
Senathipathi’s last work painted on Saturday the May 10. 2025
As in a lot of Senathipathi’s work, the symbolic use of motifs, whether or not of the staring eyes embedded in the central column of an historical prophet with a flowing beard, the fallen physique of a hero on the floor; and the emblematic handheld out in a gesture of peace, or warning, will be interpreted in some ways.
Manickam Senathipathi had at all times been the calm centre of the usually turbulent however at all times creatively exuberant and multi-talented group of artists pioneered by the nice KCS Paniker at the Cholamandal Artists’ Village. He earned the respect of each the legendary pioneers of the first era of artists and people who now carry the flaming paintbrush, if not the blowtorch of steel reliefs, or the chisel of stone craft, into the future. As the subtext to Cholamandal signifies, it’s each an area for the arts and crafts. In Senathipathi’s case, his earlier and most well-known items had been of the overwhelmed steel pictures that mixed each artwork and craft with equal felicity.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 20 May 2023: For Metro Plus: Senior artists M. Senathipathi, P. Gopinath, C.Douglas, P.S Nandhan and Selvaraj at Cholamandal artwork village on Friday. Photo: Akhila Easwaran/ The Hindu
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Akhila Easwaran
The most iconic of these usually featured a determine of Krishna taking part in his flute on a silvered background of overwhelmed steel. Or extra flagrantly a young interlude of lovelorn maidens entranced by Krishna’s melodic notes clustering round him like the vines of a cannonball flower in mid-summer. Senatipathi’s work mixed an austere strategy with very refined erotic results.
To quote from his artist’s assertion, Senathipathi writes: In my work, I’ve by no means ceased to be a mythologist, however the current has held in my ideas, a sure concern for the human situation. To voice this temper, I’ve depicted in my steel reliefs, as additionally my work, ideas which relate to insecurity in life. In depicting these expressions, I additionally take care of magnificence and the human behaviour resembling affection that makes life extra significant at the moment.”
As defined by his son Saravanan, Senathipathi was hooked up to his ancestral village in Cheyur, Madurantakam. The sounds and drumbeat of Tamil Nadu’s cultural range resonate nearly effortlessly in his work. One sees it in the richly patterned surfaces of the individuals languidly reclining in some of his compositions, or the vibrant colors of his canvases that turned an element of his repertoire in later years.
Early days – Cholamandal
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
After his preliminary training at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai, the place he obtained a diploma in Drawing and Painting in 1965, Senathipathi joined the group of artists at Cholamandal Artists’ village as a life member. During these early years, he travelled extensively to international locations resembling Britain, France, Holland, Belgium and West Germany. He was later invited to China and components of South East Asia and includingAbu Dhabi in West Asia. Amongst the numerous awards and recognition, Senathipathi acquired the 2008 Kalaichemmal award, Government of Tamilnadu, 1984-86 Senior Fellowship, Department of Culture, Government of India, and 1981 Tamil Nadu Lalit Kala Akademi, Madras.
Saravanan an artist of reputation himself provides: “He was a legend who walked with legends and made his own path. It is now our turn to make sure that we carry this legacy in our lifetime.” Senathipathi leaves behind his spouse Gowri, his daughter Hemalatha, and son Saravanan.
Published – May 12, 2025 06:32 pm IST
