Kolkata, Oct 25: Eminent painter Jogen Chowdhury died at a private hospital in Kolkata on Sunday morning following a prolonged battle with a rare blood cancer. He was 87.
Chowdhury, a former TMC MP, had been suffering from a myeloproliferative neoplasm, a rare type of blood cancer, for the past 14 months and was undergoing chemotherapy, Ruby General Hospital said in a statement.
He was admitted to the hospital in southeast Kolkata on October 16 and breathed his last at 10.15 am, it said.
"It is with profound sadness that we announce the demise of Shri Jogen Chowdhury, the renowned Indian painter," the hospital said.
During the course of his illness, Chowdhury had also required hospitalisation for urinary tract infections, it added.
Condoling his death, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said Chowdhury's works would remain "immortal through the ages".
Describing him as an artist of great stature, Adhikari said the body of work he had left behind was a treasure for the state and the nation.
"Chowdhury's rich contributions are evident in numerous government buildings, including Rashtrapati Bhavan. The works he left behind will remain for centuries," he said.
Painter Samir Aich also mourned Chowdhury's death, describing it as a "personal loss".
His passing marked the death of an art form in the country, including the Bengal School of Art, Aich said.
Bengali writer Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay also mourned the painter's death, describing him as a longtime friend and associate.
"Jogen was a long-term friend and associate, and I have memories of 'adda' with him. His death is a great loss," he said.
Chowdhury also had a house in Santiniketan, where the region's red earth and distinctive landscape served as inspiration for his artworks.
Born on February 16, 1939, in Daharpara village in Faridpur, then part of undivided Bengal, Chowdhury developed an early interest in art under the influence of his mother, who was skilled in “alpana”, a traditional form of floor art.
During Partition, his family moved to Kolkata, where he received formal training in art.
Chowdhury began his career as an art teacher at Howrah Zilla School before joining the Handloom Board in Kolkata as a designer in 1962.
In the late 1960s, he went to Paris for higher studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts. He developed his distinctive artistic style after returning to India.
Known for his unique visual language, Chowdhury drew inspiration from political and social themes as well as Indian and European art movements.
He was elected to the Rajya Sabha on a Trinamool Congress ticket and served from April 2014 to April 2020. The previous TMC government conferred the Banga Bibhushan, one of the state's highest civilian honours, on him in 2012.
PTI