Nandalal is known to have depicted fervently, the environs and surroundings of Santiniketan where he lived and taught. In this pen and ink sketch, the artist has depicted a bull grazing on a patch of grass as it is followed by three birds. He has employed soft, fluid lines to render the scene, adding life and vitality to it. Nandalal had a strong affinity for sketching, his subjects being the surrounding environs, people in their everyday life or anything that he found fascinating. His sketches provide a moving record of the modest life and natural environment in which he lived. This album of 24 works from the late years of his career, largely records line drawings of animals and birds, with a few detailed renditions. Some of these subjects, he has executed repeatedly, studying them in varied postures. About the depiction of animals, in his book,' Vision and Creation', Nandalal elaborates, "Each creature has a basic spinal rhythm following its characteristic nature...A certain kind of movement or rhythm finds expression in the body of an animal following each emotional impulse, and this becomes for us its characteristic gesture... These body rhythms are based on the structure of the backbone, and this is seen most clearly from the side. The body's mass, structure and volume should be studied in relation with this life rhythm; it controls them and, in turn, is controlled by them." This sketch was signed and dated 'Nanda, 23.1.56' in Bengali in the top-right corner of the sketch. There is an inscription in Bengali that can be read as, 'Santiniketan', referring to the place it was sketched at.
- Identifier
- ngma-09307
- Material
- Pen, Ink, Postcard
- Note
- Nandalal Bose, popularly known as the Master Moshai, was born on December 3rd, 1882 in Kharagpur, Monghyr District, Bihar. A disciple of Abanindranath Tagore, he graduated from Government School of Art, Calcutta in 1910. Nandalal was fascinated by the potential of folk art and indigenous modes of expression and inculcated them in his works although stylising them in a unique representation for depiction and narration of local life. His explorative temperament with the artistic materials allowed him to create a vast body of work with printmaking techniques as lithography, linoleum prints and Sino- Japanese techniques while remaining faithful to his narrative subject: India's environment and its ethos. Nandalal Bose's art conjures newness unbound but still flushed with the memories of yesterday. Inspired by Far Eastern sensibilities that celebrate the traditional, the genius of his art's lies in the interplay of sensual silhouettes and his powerful rendering of contemporary themes with the traditions, customs and sensibilities of Indian heritage. It is this intermingling that invigorates his works and captures the minds of his viewers. He began his artistic career in the fervour of Swadeshi movement, rejecting western colonial norms of art and taking inspirations from the ancient murals of Ajanta and Bagh caves as well as Mughal miniatures. In 1919, Nandalal Bose accepted Rabindranath Tagore's invitation to become the Principal of the newly established art school Kala Bhavan at Visvabharati University in Santiniketan. He travelled in and out of India including places like Burma, China, Japan, Malaysia, Java and Sri Lanka seeking artistic stimulus from observing different cultural traditions. He also painted a series of posters for the Indian National Congress at Haripura in February 1938. The range of Nandalal's artistic expressions is seen in his various landscapes with human figures, his varied images of nature and the Santiniketan Murals. His works reflect the changing landscape, portraying people and places at a time when modern India's cultural development was at its threshold. Nandalal Bose died on April 16th, 1966 in Santiniketan, West Bengal. He won several accolades including the Padma Vibhushan by the President of India in 1953. He was awarded with an honorary Doctorate in Letters (D. Litt.) from Banaras Hindu University in 1950 and Calcutta University in 1957. The NGMA has over 6800 of his works in his collection.
- Pages
- 14.1 x 8.8 cm
- Published in
- India
- Type
- Painting
