(b Colombo, 20 July 1903; d Colombo, 24 May 1967). Sri Lankan painter. He was best known among the painters of his generation as an enthusiastic exponent of the principles and practices of contemporary European painting (see SRI LANKA, §V, 2(v)). His affection for Western art was due in large measure to his artistic training at the Slade School of Fine Art, London, and Académie Julian, Paris. Daraniyagala has generally been credited with introducing POST-IMPRESSIONISM to Sri Lanka in the late 1920s. His early paintings, like those of the artists of the French school, show a marked penchant for the simplified significant form and a disregard for visual truth. Despite his obvious admiration for French artists, he was not satisfied simply to follow in their wake, but set himself the task of developing a personal idiom based on his European experience. He favoured the use of thick layers of colour set down in bold, sweeping brushstrokes and marked impasto that created a heavily textured pictorial surface. His paintings have been noted for their expressionistic spirit. Daraniyagala was indeed considered a leader among Asian expressionists. He painted with great abandon and exerted much influence on his contemporaries, who recognized the liberating effect of his style.

• Daraniyagala, Justin Pieris
  • Sri Lanka, §V, 2(v): Painting: Modern period