Author: Abanindranath Tagore
Publisher: National Gallery of Modern Art
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 6
ISBN/UPC (if available): N/A
Description
One of the earliest art movements of the early twentieth century India was initiated by a group of individuals whose manner of working came to be known as the “Bengal School’ because many of them hailed primarily from the Bengal region. The influence and guidance of E.B Havell and Okakura in the process of building up a consciousness of an indigenous and contextual modernism is undeniable. Abanindranath Tagore was one of the first to respond to Havell’s call for the nationalist style.
Abanindranath Tagore was born in the culturally enriched ‘Tagore Family’ of Jorasanko whose members included artists and writers like Rabindranath Tagore and Gaganendranath Tagore. Later, with E.B Havell’s encouragement he sought inspiration from ancient and medieval India art, his own style being influenced by Mughal and Rajput miniatures. Abanindranath studied the concepts and techniques of Japanese art from Okakura Kakuzo, a great Japanese artist and art-critic who had come to India with Swami Vivekananda. He was also moved by Okakura’s belief that the spirit of a nation expresses itself in its art. Many of Abanindranath’s later works show the influence of Japanese calligraphy and painting traditions.
Abanindranath stands at the forefront of the early modernist art of India. He shaped his art to serve the nationalist aspirations of a nation, in whose rich cultural history he took immense pride. His work and philosophy influenced subsequent generations of artists, not just in Bengal but across the Indian subcontinent.
This Portfolio includes following Paintings:
MORNING (Acc. No. 81)
The work is an example of the artist’s excellence in handling pastels. Abanindranath has portrayed this early winter morning with delicate nuances. Renowned for his work in tempera, this little drawing displays the artist’s spontaneity. The figure of the calf captures the essence of a young animal.
NOORJAHAN (Acc. No.967)
Abanindranath painted a number of Mughal subjects. Here, the Mughal queen Nurjehan has been imaged in an eclectic style. The manner in which she has been placed in the composition is reminiscent of the Banithani painting of the Rajput style, whereas the facial type and the softness of the feminine representation hark back to the ideal beauty types of Chinese water-colours.
WASHERMAN’S DONKEY (Acc. No. 1184)
This drawing is an excellent example of Abanindranath’s calligraphic lines. The strokes in this work successfully delineate the confusion of a tired donkey. The artist has played with a witty phrase about a washerman’s donkey, translated as “A washerman’s donkey belongs neither to his home nor his working area’.
LEAVING FOR HOME ON PUJA VACATION (Acc. No. 1211)
The hustle-bustle of the academic campus at Santiniketan dies down during the annual puja vacations. In this work, the artist paints a young Bengali lady, all set to leave for home. The subject matter has been placed in one corner of the composition and the rest is covered with patches of dark colours to represent the distance and missed feelings of the lady.
JOURNEY”S END (Acc. No. 1832)
Abanindranath had painted this dying camel as a metaphor for the end of a journey; perhaps here, life has been compared to a journey. The scene is bathed in a warm evening light. The falling figure of the animals is melancholic through which the artist has brought out the somber reality of the inexorable final moment.
COMPANIONS (GOAT AND MONKEY) (Acc. No.1834)
Warmth infuses the work, both subjectively and objectively. The yellow background supports these two friends nestling against each other in close companionship. The monkey is leaning against the goat’s body and looking for lice in the goat’s skin. The sensitively painted composition is humorous yet evocative.