Abstract:
Painting is a mode of creative expression which grants the painter to visualize his unexposed
feelings on a free surface using his own characteristics. These techniques differ from one
painter to the other. Nevertheless, a controversial point has been raised about Justin Pieris
Deraniyagala‘s paintings. Whereas Neville Weerarathna in his The 43 group: Chronic of 50
years of Sri Lanka highlights the reappearance of fauvist techniques in Deraniyagala‘s
paintings, A. Deraniyagala in Justin Deraniyagala Oil Paintings comments about the cubist
mask effects of the same author. This presence of cubist and fauvist features in the artistic
language of Deraniyagala leads the critiques wonder whether he has traced fauvist and cubist
features in his work or it was his authentic style which resembles particular elements in his
work. It indeed is a dilemma to an exterior viewer. Thus, this work focuses on identifying
whether the author has been subjected to such influence. The data was collected by conducting
interviews with scholars of the field and examining selected paintings of the author. This
particular analysis is effective in the field of art to identify the influence of French trends on the
Sri Lankan canvas paintings. The findings highlight the fact that though being influenced by the
said French movements, Deraniyagala has added his own personal touch to the Sri Lankan
paintings by adding oriental characteristics that are nothing but our own.
