In Family, Bangdel fuses personal longing with universal human emotion. Created in 1957 during his Paris years, the work bears the clear stylistic influence of Picasso’s Blue Period—marked by somber tones, elongated forms, and an empathetic focus on human vulnerability. Yet the subjects are unmistakably Nepali, their attire and presence grounded in Bangdel’s memory of home.
Though his own daughter, Dina, had not yet been born, Bangdel imagines a modest Nepali family—father, mother, and child—standing together in quiet reflection. Their bare feet touch the earth, their shawls wrap them against emotional and material uncertainty. The adults lean protectively toward the child, their expressions tender but heavy. The flattened backdrop, rendered in earthy tones, offers no narrative distractions: only this moment of familial stillness remains. More than a portrait, Family is a meditation on responsibility, love, and the anxieties of the future. It reflects Bangdel’s inner world during a formative period of solitude abroad, and his deep yearning for connection, continuity, and home.
Details
- Title : Family
- Year : 1957
- Artist : Lain Singh Bangdel
- Classification : Painting
- Medium : Oil on canvas
- Dimension : Size 37 × 26 in | 94 × 66 cm, Framed Size 38 1/5 × 27 1/5 in | 97 × 69 cm
- Collection : Tansbao Gallery
- Credit Line : Tansbao Gallery
- Status : Frieze Seoul I 2- 5 Sept 2026 I For sale I Tansbao Gallery I On Hold