JOIN USHyderabad-Karnataka region is known for its contribution to the field of art and architecture since the times of Rashtrakuta, Chalukya and Bahamani empires. Artists born in this region are famous for their individual styles of work. In particular, Kalaburagi is often recognised for having hundreds of established artists including painters, sculptors and photographers. One such artist is Shantalingappa Patil. He was born in 1882 to a farming family in Nimbal village of Aland taluk in Kalaburagi district. He was an expert in portrait painting.
Shantalingappa completed his education with the support of his maternal uncle, Panvel Atmaram Seth, a noted businessman. Panvel was known to have loved fine art and was friends with some literature and art enthusiasts. As a result, Shantalingappa was also introduced to the world of art. Shantalingappa learnt fine art under noted painter, Sawlaram Haldankar. Shantalingappa was also interested in sculpting. He got trained under Raghunath Krishna Phadke, an artist famous for his sculptures. To learn more about the art, Shantalingappa went to study at Sir J J School of Art, Mumbai. According to a source, he was the first person from the Hyderabad-Karnataka region to seek admission here. After completing his studies there, he stayed in Mumbai for a long time and did several paintings and sculptures.
Later, he went to Hyderabad and joined the Raja Lala Deen Dayal Studio which was under the patronage of Nizam’s kingdom. When Nizams came to know about Shantalingappa’s talent, they asked him to create portraits of their family members.
The last king of the Nizam empire, Usman Ali Khan, was impressed by Shantalingappa’s paintings. These were later exhibited for public view. This made Shantalingappa famous in the Hyderabad art circle.
However, he had to return home later when his family was passing through a tough phase. Shantalingappa also had to put his art career on hold as he had to return to the field of agriculture to manage the homefront. His inner creative mind led him to make an art studio in a remote area of his village. Here, he spent some time creating landscapes, still life and portraits. Apart from this, he did pencil work and dry pastel also. The influence of Raghunath Krishna Phadke helped Shantalingappa create many sculptures and murals in Plaster of Paris and terracotta.
Shantalingappa was blacklisted by the British Government as he supported the Independence movement through his paintings of Indian leaders and the Indian Independence struggle. He died on February 11, 1977.
Presently, Salar Jung Museum and the palaces of the Nizam in Hyderabad have many paintings and murals done by Shantalingappa. These include landscape, still life, compositions, and portraits made in oil and water colour. Apart from this, his paintings can also be found in the houses of Kalaburagi, Solapur, Akalkot, Bidar, Dhannur, Ben Chincholi, Fatehpur and Dubalgund. The Ideal Fine Art Society in Kalaburagi also has some of his paintings in its collection.
Sharanappa of Fatepure family invited Shantalingappa to stay in his home and encouraged him to continue his work. Today, the Fatepure family has nine of Shantalingappa’s original paintings in its collection. Recently, The Ideal Fine Art Society exhibited 30 of his original paintings and drawings at its art gallery to mark Shantalingappa’s 135th birth anniversary.