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At the time when the art of India was breaking
free of the shackles of the sterile confines of the British controlled
Company School, the multi-talented Tagore family was at the fountainhead
of the emerging modern school, popularly known as the Neo-Bengal School.
In this family of artists, was born on 18th of September, 1867, Gaganendranath
Tagore, nephew of Rabindranath, at Jorasanko, at the Tagore Family Home.
Gaganendranath is counted, along with his brother Abanindranath, as one
of the earliest practitioners of modern art in India. Gaganendranath was
inspired by the visiting Japanese artist Yokoyama Taikan and other Far
Eastern styles, early in his artistic life. |
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With his proficiency in the European water-colour techniques
he was probably the first artist to explore with French style of painting
in India. He also came under the influence of experimentalist art prevalent
in Europe at that time and was allured towards geometric compositions. |
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| His imagination was fired by anything Indian
or Oriental, probably more so, because of his assertive nationalism. He
was, like the other Tagores, also versatile in his artistic interests,
and involved himself in theatre, reading and photography. His interest
in photography may have got him interested in the mysterious play of light
and shade and patterns. This was the gist of cubism, seeking to represent
one's experiences in terms of patterns which are often veiled by the visual
appearance. He developed his own brand of Cubism, through his various inspirations
but, what he is best known for is political cartoons and social satires
on Westernised Bengalis. Gaganendranath was one of the most famous Indian
cartoonists of his time. He got interested in lithography with his brother
Abanindranath Tagore. |
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Rabindranath Tagore, his uncle commented
on his art, thus, in 1938: "What profoundly attracted me was the uniqueness
of his creation, a lively curiosity in his constant experiments, and some
mysterious depth in their imaginative value. Closely surrounded by the
atmosphere of a new art movement ... he sought out his own untrodden path
of adventure, attempted marvellous experiments in colouring and made fantastic
trials in the magic of light and shade." Rabindranath Tagore used to describe
Gaganendranath as an ideal of completeness in life. His artistic make-up
was one wholesome entity, and whatever walk of life he tread, he gave it
an artistic orientalisation, flavouring each of his artistic pursuits with
daring originality of conception and execution of a bewildering variety
of themes in different styles and techniques. |
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The largest number of paintings of Gaganendranath now forms part of
Rabindra-Bharati Society's collection at Jorasanko, Calcutta. In
1907, he founded the Indian Society of Oriental Art along with his brother
Abanindranath Tagore. |
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IMPORTANT
EXHIBITIONS & COLLECTIONS:
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1908 ISOA Inaugural exhibition, Calcutta
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1909 ISOA exhibition, Simla
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1911 ISOA's United Provinces exhibition, Allahabd, Festival of Empire,
Crystal Palace, England
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1915-6 ISOA exhibition, Calcutta & Young Men's Indian Association,
Chennai
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1928 Athene Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland
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Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta
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Bharat Kala Bhawan, Hindu University
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Varanasi Indian Museum, Calcutta;
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Kala Bhawan, Visva Bharati University,
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Santiniketan
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H.K.Kejriwal Collection and Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad, Bangalore NGMA
New Delhi
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The Trustees of Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
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