Somabandu Vidyapathy:

Painter, dancer and sculptor

Artists are born, not made. It was inevitable and natural when in the formative years of his life, Somabandu Vidyapathy derived a great pleasure in painting and traditional dance forms fascinated him. As a little boy he grew up in the typical surroundings of a Sri Lankan village, flushed with green paddy fields, temples and other landmarks.

Somabandu Vidyapathi was born on March 22, 1923 in a village called Pannipitiya. His father was a famous sculptor, painter and a traditional dancer. Therefore his house was full of sketches of temple paintings, traditional Sinhalese paintings and other indigenous art forms.

At the age of ten he came under the tutelage of his maternal grandfather Kornelis Gurunnanse, an astrologer, temple painter and traditional dancer. The grandfather taught him the rudiments of traditional Sinhalese paintings and other indigenous art forms. He had his first schooling at Depanama School and later at Kottawa Ananda Vidyalaya, St. Thomes College, Kotte and when Dharmapala Vidyalaya at Pannipitiya was founded in 1940, he left S. Thomas and continued his education at Dharmapala Vidyalaya.

In 1945 Somabandu went to Shantiniketana, India where he studied painting under the veteran master Nandalal Bose who was one of the pioneers of the national tradition of painting in modern India. Later he won a scholarship from the Sri Lankan Government to enter the Travancore University, India, where he studied South Indian painting and sculpture. While in South India he made a comprehensive study of costume design and make-up of the Kathakali dance drama.

After two years of his fruitful years in India he returned to Sri Lanka.

The theatre was one of his early loves. In addition to being a professional painter Somabandu made a significant contribution to the world of theatre by his innovative approach to concept of stage design.

Somabandu Vidyapathy

Chitrasena's father the famous Tower Hall personality Seebert Dias, initiated Somabandu into the arts of costume and stage design. He was also a brilliant dancer closely associated with the theatre productions of Chitrasena where he participated in 'Rawana' 'Chandali' 'Karadiya' and 'Nala Damayanthi' to name few.

He was also instrumental in costume and stage designing in these productions where some of these were crowd pallors such as 'Karadiya' and 'Nala Damayanthi'. These productions contributed greatly to the Sinhala drama and dance revival of that era.

Somabandu Vidyapathi's contribution as a temple artist which dawn the walls of Bellanwila shrine, with spectacular fantastic masterly bush strokes succeeds in creating a style of his own and unique to Bellanwila. Somabandu was a pictorial rather than a photographic painter. And his art is so alive, so spirited, so impetuous, that is kindles a sympathetic spark of imagination in the most sluggish of his spectators.

Somabandu had the outstanding degree of craftsmanship with which to achieve monumental stability. His human figures, houses, rivers, mountains trees, and grass - all his objects seem to defy not only the accepted physical but even the chemical and the mental and the moral laws of creation.

In the world of colour Somabandu stands among the great. His colours did not shine bright but gave a mat finish and a sober effect to the paintings. His temple murals, costume designs and set designs have attracted the fascinated attention of many art lovers not only in Sri Lanka but also all over the globe. Not only as a painter, dancer, and a sculptor part excellence, he was solely responsible in costume designs and set designs as an art director in the film 'Vesathuru Siritha'.

He represented Sri Lanka at a Asian art festival in Russia, and one of his paintings was exhibited at an exhibition in the tea centre in London.

He met his wife Malini Algama at Chitrasena School of dancing when both of them were students. They later got married and had two sons Ravibandu and Manabandu Vidyapathi. Somabandu was an artist of rare versatility and technical accomplishment. He died on February 18, 2006 at the age of 82.