Home / Arts and Entertainment / Goa's Modernist Master Angelo da Fonseca Finally Honored at Home
Goa's Modernist Master Angelo da Fonseca Finally Honored at Home
6 Feb
Summary
- Angelo da Fonseca's art now has a permanent museum display in Goa.
- The museum at XCHR features works of Christian art and other artists.
- Fonseca pioneered the Indianisation of Christian art, depicting religious figures with Indian elements.
A new museum at the Xavier Centre of Historical Research (XCHR) in Porvorim, Goa, is set to permanently display the works of Angelo da Fonseca, a prominent Indian modernist. This marks the first time Fonseca's art will be showcased in his home state. The museum currently exhibits approximately 60 of his artworks, with hundreds more in XCHR's possession slated for future display.
Fonseca, born in 1902, was a pioneer in Indianising Christian art, famously depicting religious figures with distinctly Indian attributes like saris and bindis. His unique style, developed after studying at Sir JJ School of Art and later at Abanindranath Tagore's Shantiniketan, was initially met with suspicion in Goa.
Disgruntled by the conservative reception, Fonseca moved to Pune in 1931, where he continued his artistic endeavors until his death in 1967. His wife, Ivy, dedicated decades to collecting his work and in 2006 donated the collection to the Goa Jesuits, fulfilling a promise to establish a permanent gallery. The new museum also features works by Goan polymath Jose Pereira, French artist Sr Genevieve, and other ancient Christian art pieces.
