Abanindranath Tagore

Subject: History

Context:

National Galary of Modern Art is going to organise the virtual tour titled “The Great Maestro  Abanindranath Tagore” to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Abanindranath Tagore on 7th August 2020.

Concept:

• He was the first major supporter of swadeshi values in Indian art. Abanindranath first created the ‘Indian Society of Oriental Art’ and later went on to establish Bengal school of art.
• His sole aim for establishing the school was to counter the English influence on Indian artists. He did that by incorporating Indian elements in his works and achieved success when British art institutions gave in and accepted to teach and propagate his style of works in their organizations.
• His idea of modernizing Mughal and Rajput paintings eventually gave rise to modern Indian painting, which took birth at his Bengal school of art.
• Abanindranath is also regarded as a proficient and accomplished writer. Most of his literary works were meant for children.Some of his books like ‘BudoAngla’, ‘KhirerPutul’ and ‘Rajkahini’ are best examples of Bengali children’s literature.
• Abanindranath Tagore believed in the traditional Indian techniques of painting. He rejected the materialistic art of the West and emphasized on returning to the Indian traditional art forms. He believed that Indian art and its art forms gave importance to spirituality as opposed to the West which stressed on materialism.
• He was very much influenced by the Mughal School of painting as well as Whistler’s Aestheticism.
• In his later works, Abanindranath started integrating Chinese and Japanese calligraphic traditions into his style. The intention behind this move was to construct an amalgamation of the modern pan-Asian artistic tradition and the common elements of Eastern artistic and spiritual culture.
• Bharat Mata painting: This beautiful painting was completed in the year 1905. The painting depicts Bharat Mata (Mother India). She is portrayed as having four hands, carrying important elements in each of her hand. The painting reflects Indian tradition, which features in most of his works.