"The Guardian of the Valley, 1974" is a watercolour painting by Bireshwar Sen. It is now exhibited in the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.
- Identifier
- ngma-03993
- Material
- Watercolour, Paper
- Note
- Bireswar Sen, born in 1897, Calcutta West Bengal is one of the most prominent landscape artists of Modern India. The artist was trained under the tutelage of Abanindranath Tagore in the Indian Society of Oriental Art and was greatly influenced by the techniques of Japanese art introduced by artists as Arai Kampo and Taikan. He was equally interested in English Literature hence took his formal education in the subject and taught in a college in Patna, Bihar. Bireswar sen is eminently known for his miniature sized natural landscapes imbued with the tenets of his Bengal School training in thought and application. His love for nature dominated his paintings and was further heightened upon his meeting with the legendary artist Nicholas Roerich who had epitomised the beauty of Himalayas in his canvases. His works were executed mostly on paper and were the size of a small card yet never appearing cluttered. They rather echoed similar sentiments and details as encapsulated by larger canvases. His learning and deep interest in literature added lyricism and poetry in his landscapes. Sen's paintings arouse a sense of wonder: the 'adbhuta rasa' and leaves the viewer to marvel at nature's creation. Bireswar Sen started his artistic career as a figure painter, following the beliefs of Bengal school. Soon abandoning religious and mythological subjects, he indulged in seeking harmony among the forces of nature in his works. As a result, the figures in his compositions also became smaller, making natural surroundings the focal points of the compositions.
- Pages
- 17.5 X 12.5 cm
- Published in
- India
- Type
- Painting
