The Indian art fraternity is mourning the loss of one of its finest, painter Bikash Bhattacharya, who passed away on December 18.

"He was one of the best figurative painters in India," said Kolkata-based painter Wasim Kapoor. "He could handle the human anatomy excellently. He was a master in both oil painting and pastel," he added.

"I am heartbroken by the news," said noted painter Paritosh Sen, who was one of the pioneers of the modern art movement in India. "For Indian art this is a big loss and cannot be filled ever."

"He was an extremely outspoken person," said Ganesh Haloi, another Indian art stalwart. "There were few like him in the art scene and he helped many painters too."

Bhattacharya, a master of realism, was born in Kolkata in 1940. The alleys of north Calcutta were his muse and he depicted them with an unparalleled flair and subtlety.

A fake painting of Bhattacharya was found at the Osian's art auction in New Delhi this year. Bhattacharya's daughter, Balaka, is also an upcoming painter.

Among Bhattacharya's lesser known projects was his collaboration with late Bengali writer Samaresh Bose for an illustrated and fictionalised biography of artist Ram Kinkar Baij. The project was never completed because of Bose's sudden demise.