India's Pioneer of Christian Arts` Finally Gets His Due

TIMES OF INDIA
By Alexandre Moniz Barbosa

INDIA - In his lifetime, he was criticized by the clergy for painting Christian themes in Indian settings. In the 1930s he had to leave his homeland, and find refuge and recognition in British India. In 2011, his works of art are getting their just rewards in the land of his birth. Born in St Estevam, Angelo da Fonseca left the then Portuguese colony for further studies but returned with his brush to depict his Christian art in his homeland. Instead of encouragement for his talent, what he received was criticism. His depiction of the Virgin Mary (above) in a saree came up for censure in Goa. Disheartened, he left Goa for Pune and settled at the Christa Prema Seva Ashram at Shivajinagar where he found encouragement and a congenial atmosphere," writes M R Lederle, SJ, in the essay `The inner inspiration: Angelo da Fonseca`. "One could say that Fonseca was not only the pioneer of Indian Christian art, but also a pioneer in inculturation. [link]