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A NEW RENAISSANCE: THE ART OF CALCUTTA AND SANTINIKETAN Rabindranath Tagore grew up in a family of reformers and patriots. His father Debendranath Tagore was a leader of the Brahmo Samaj and his family was famous for debating ideas on religion, politics and literature. Today, the world remembers him as the first Asian to win the Noble Prize in Literature in 1913. This achievement alone stands as testament to an extraordinary life, but Tagore was much more than a Noble Laureate - he was the very embodiment of cultural awakening and is considered a national figure influential in shaping modern India. Rabindranath began an artistic renaissance for which Calcutta and the nearby Santiniketan became the creative impetus.Rabindranath Tagore was able to fulfill his father's desire by establishing a school with a few students modelled after the old ashram system of ancient India. The retreat was called Santiniketan or the "abode of peace". At the time of the foundation of the university in 1921, he declared that its aim would be to "adopt the best ideal of the present age along with all that was true and great in humanity." (P. Pal, G. Howe and E.O. Hoppes, Santiniketan Photographs from 1929, Mumbai, 2010, p. 13) The art school at Santiniketan became the epicentre for what became known as the Bengal School of art which included Rabindranath Tagore (lots 1-3), his nephews Gaganendranath and Abanindranath Tagore, niece Sunayani Devi (lot 4) and also Mukul Dey (lot 9). Rabindranath only turned to painting when he was in his sixties, first exhibiting at Galerie Pigalle, Paris, in 1930. His practice began with doodles and drawings, often of birds and fantastical creatures that “unaccountably missed [their] chance of existence”. The watercolour Untitled (Dragon) (lot 3), is an the evolution of this theme, while Untitled (The Water Carrier) (lot 2) demonstrates the power and immediacy of Rabindranath’s raw primitive style of drawing. "The inclination to know and understand other cultures was innate to his personality, and contributed to his emergence as an artist. A world traveller and a creative artist with interest in cross-cultural contacts, he looked at the art of the countries he travelled to […] Primitive and modern art that he saw during his many travels abroad played such a role in his emergence as an artist." (R. Siva Kumar, 'Rabindranath Tagore as Painter and Catalyst of Modern Indian Art', The Last Harvest, Ahmedabad, 2011, p. 56)Overlapping this period, in Calcutta, the artist Jamini Roy established a more inward looking aesthetic, reflecting on popular culture and mirroring the sentiments of Gandhi by turning to the country's villages for inspiration. Influenced by traditional Kalighat painting, Roy developed a signature style marked by his economy of line and bold palette of primary colours. His subjects included mythical Hindu and Christian scenes, as well as iconic secular ones. Earlier works such as Flight into Egypt (lot 12) show a pure, gestural naive style that over time became synthesised into modular stylised forms (lot 11). Roy’s Calcutta studio became so popular and recognisable that it was regularly frequented by visiting international titans of industry and politics alike.Rabindranath Tagore and Jamini Roy are, in their different ways, two critical figures in the birth of Indian modernism. It is only fitting that both artists have been designated 'National Art Treasures' by the Government of India.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE (1861-1941)

Untitled (Namaz)

Details

RABINDRANATH TAGORE (1861-1941)
Untitled (Namaz)
signed in Bengali (lower centre)
woodblock print on paper
9 5/8 x 13 1/8 in. (24.4 x 33.3 cm.) sheet

Provenance

Argosy Book Store, New York
Private American Collection, purchased from the above in the mid-1980s
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Literature

R. Parimoo, Art of the Three Tagores: From Revival to Modernity, New Delhi, 2011, p. 529 (another version illustrated)
R. Siva Kumar, ed., The Last Harvest: Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore, Ahmedabad, 2011, p. 64 (another version illustrated)
Bengal and Modernity: Early 20th Century Art in India, exhibition catalogue, Oxford, 2015 (another version illustrated, unpaginated)

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