India, Jan. 16 -- Pather Panchali, Charulata, Shatranj ke Khilari.

We know Satyajit Ray for his films, with their tender portrayals of the vagaries of life, explorations of class and power, and masterful use of natural light. These were movies that marked a turning point in India, birthing a parallel cinematic movement in the 1950s.

But moving images are not Ray's only legacy. He set out, in fact, wanting to be a commercial artist. After graduating in Economics from Presidency College in Calcutta, he enlisted at Santiniketan, where he studied fine art for two years (1940-42), under masters such as Nandalal Bose and Benode Behari Mukherjee. At 22, he began his artistic career with work that is considered seminal (if frequently forgotten ...