Rabin Mondal (1932–2019) was a prominent Indian modernist known for his powerful figurative paintings exploring human suffering, isolation and resilience. Born in Kolkata, he studied Fine Arts at the Vidyasagar Art School. Growing up in the industrial environment of Howrah, Mondal witnessed poverty, political violence and social inequality, experiences that profoundly shaped his artistic vocabulary.

His figures are often grotesque, sombre and intensely expressive, reflecting the psychological and social turmoil of the world around him. Executed in bold strokes and dense pigments, his compositions are dominated by deep blacks and reds, with occasional touches of green and turquoise. Influenced initially by Jamini Roy and Rabindranath Tagore, his exposure to French modernist art in the late 1940s opened new directions in his practice.

Mondal first exhibited in 1955 and held his first solo exhibition at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, in 1961. He was also an active member of avant-garde artists’ organisations and served on the Lalit Kala Akademi from 1979 to 1982. His works have come to occupy an important place within the history of Indian modernism.

Mondal passed away in Kolkata on 2 July 2019.