Education:

• 1948: Diploma course, Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai

• 1949-1951: Fellow and specialization in Mural Decoration under Jagannath Ahivasi.

• 1958-1960: Cultural Scholarship under Jagannath Ahivasi, Banaras Hindu University

Teaching period:

• 1962-1985: Reader in painting, Mahila Vidyalaya, B.H.U.

History:

Vasudeo Smart has been a prolific artist his entire life, documenting and innovating newer symbols in the classical Indian painting style. He has done thousands of paintings, frescoes, scrolls, line drawing, panoramic color pieces, mammoth compositions on subjects such as Ram Vivah, Independence and miniature paintings. A lifelong art educator, he worked as a reader in Indian painting at Banaras Hindu University for over a quarter century (BHU).

Vasudeo discovered various patterns, beauty, texture, and colors through his paintings. His hallmarks were a deep and throbbing sense of romance and wonderment at everyday life, and the ability to translate it all into minutely detailed paintings, strong in lines, marvelous in composition, and superb in color selection.

He was deeply rooted in Indian art traditions, thanks to his upbringing and the teachings of giants such as his mentor, Jagannath Ahivasi. His areas of expertise are as diverse as his repertoire of Sanskrit literature. Innumerable frescoes, murals, and line drawings by him can be found in the collections of various societies and individuals throughout the country and abroad. He also wrote several books about art and painting. Among these are Roop Samhita, a collection of 2,000 Indian designs, and Bharatna Bhint Chitro, a Gujarati book. His works are very sensitive, true to life in the smallest detail, with a very strong line drawing, unity of color, and sense of proportion. His works also exhibit a rare ability to provide a panoramic view without relying on perspective to tell the viewer what the central or focal point of the mural is. His work has a breathtaking scale, as well as a rhythm and movement that allow the viewer to easily grasp what is being shown. His artistic mind was drawn to Indian painting, and Vasudeo conducted extensive research on fresco paintings of various styles and techniques, preparing identical size paintings of murals found in Ajanta and Bagh caves, among other things. In 1954, he copied frescoes at Badami caves for the Lalit Kala Academy in New Delhi, and went on to document murals at Orchha and Datia in Uttar Pradesh in a similar manner.

He received Gaurav Puraskar from Gujarat State Lalit kala Academy in 1985.