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 Abanindranath Tagore, Buddha and Sujata, 1901

• Showed Havell that him and A. Tagore had the same ideas of India art. Increased interested in life of Buddha.
• Bodies that are only highlighted through contour lines. Interest in color fields. BG is great bunyan tree. Variety of foliage forms. Pulling from different traditions of art. 
• Tale shows important moment of when Buddha is confirmed that he's going to become Buddha. Iconography: Buddha is shown wearing identifiable robe & alms bowl. He isn't yet enlightened. He was still a wandering ascetic. Was at a point where he was going to give up bc he had been fasting for so long. Sujata was a woman who had been worshipping a male spirit in this particular bunyan tree & wanted to be arranged to marry a guy equal to her rank & to have a son. Both happen so she wants to pay homage back to the tree spirit. She makes this pudding, and offers this to Buddha thinking he's the tree spirit. He breaks this fast & decides that fasting & austerity isn't the path to enlightenment. The bowl is placed into a river & floats against the current, so his enlightenment is confirmed.
• Moment of human interaction that creates important connection between the human & divine. 
• Criticized for its style and lack of craftsmanship. 

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Abanindranath Tagore, Abhisarika from Kalidasa’s Ritu-samhara, watercolor on paper, 1900

Abanindranath Tagore, Abhisarika from Kalidasa’s Ritu-samhara, watercolor on paper, 1900

• Chooses from a collection of poems by India's Shakespeare. Kalidasa tries to convey the feelings the lovers have during these various seasons. 
• This is the monsoon season. Dark clouds, lots of thunders. Oftentimes, lovers are separated during this time but they try to get together still. 
• Woman is placed in a dark background w/ a few plants to show her a sense of groundedness. The plants are similar to inlaying seen in Mughal art. Fanciful borders are directly derived from Mughal paintings. 
• In classic literature and symbolism today, there's a charge in the air. The lightning, the ability of the rains bringing growth, the darkness and mystery. Snakes/vines wrapped around trees represent the union. A. Tagore's painting lacks this detail and lack physical setting makes it more dreamlike. Definitive of his earlier works. 

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Abanindranath Tagore, The Passing of Shah Jahan, oil on wood, 1902

Abanindranath Tagore, The Passing of Shah Jahan, oil on wood, 1902

• Both paintings (along w/ The Building of the Taj) sent by Havell to the Exhibition of Indian Arts and Crafts, Delhi
• This painting wins a silver medal in the exhibition.
• Scale of this is about the size of the Mughal minis. But wanted to experiment w/ what he could do w/ the detail and the inlays.
• Infusion of bhava in his paintings. Bhava is the emotional essence of the worth and usually taken from Indian performative arts.  A. Tagore felt that there wasn't enough emotion in Mughal paintings. Everyone was too doll-like and stiff. 
• A. Tagore paints this at the same time that his own daughter had died of the plague in the same year. Tapped into the same sense of grief and longing. 
• The Shah is on his deathbed, and his eldest daughter came and took care of him while he was dying. He spent a great deal of time looking across the river at the Taj while he was dying. Sad part is also that his in last years of his life, the Shah was imprisoned in this fort by his own son. His son was taking over as emperor. 

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Abanindranath Tagore, Dewali (The Feast of Lamps), watercolor on paper, 1904

Abanindranath Tagore, Dewali (The Feast of Lamps), watercolor on paper, 1904

• Nihonga – term designated to JP painting traditions that were differentiated from the west. Interesting to Swadeshi and A. Tagores. 
• W/ figures, no interest in direct setting or form. Not a great interest in modeling or realism. Mostly outlined in linear form. Even more important than style is an interest in materials. All of that had to be indigenous to the country. Paper, silk, pigments. 
• Lot of interest in not being able to pinpoint a finite setting.
• Demonstrative of the wash techniques that he learned from the JP scholars. Very soft forms and background. Would submerge paper in water. First layer of painting, submerge, repeat. Didn't really load brush w/ water. 
• Never used silk bc that's what JP used. Focused on paper bc it was Indian medium. Always had the use of a border. 
• Special holiday celebrated by all Indians, sort of like a new year. Lots of lamps are set out for the worship of the goddess Lakshmi. Light overcomes the darkness, so there is hopes for good luck. 
• Interesting subject bc in 1905, there is a partitioning of Bengal. So it might be hinting about trying to overcome the western evil. 
• Solitary female figure who is walking thru relatively unstructured space. Idea of celebrating Dewali is that it can be celebrated anywhere, so setting isn't important. She seems to have some offerings in her hand, maybe petals or flowers, which are common offerings during the celebration. She's sort of hunched over, so there's lots of questions of her physical state & actions. 
• Questioning about is this the darkness of GB rule over India? Idea of hope for Indian self-sufficiency in the future?

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Abanindranath Tagore, Bharat Mata (Mother India), or Banga Mata (Mother Bengal), watercolor on paper, 1905-6

Abanindranath Tagore, Bharat Mata (Mother India), or Banga Mata (Mother Bengal), watercolor on paper, 1905-6

• Ascribed the homeland to a physical form. Most highly debated & political piece of A. Tagore. OG name of piece thought to be Mother Bengal bc that's where the idea of self-rule originated. Ultimately it starts to be applied to India as a whole. Had to break through the regionalism of Bengal. 
• Reproduced quite a bit as sort of a fundraiser for Swadeshi movements. Reproduced on large silk banners by the JP & in print form. Image used during protests against the GB. 
• Clearly a young female form, might be inspired by recent death of his daughter. Divinity indicated by 4 arms & halo. Standing on the boundaries of a lotus pond, rounded form may imply globe. Foreground left ambiguous & she's not firmly grounded. Holding items that are associated w/ India's self-sufficiency.
• Cloth to boycott the GB production of textiles in Manchester. In 20 yrs, great interest in producing one's own cloth as idea of self-sufficiency. 
• Prayer beads for the idea of religious self-sufficiency. Beads being used in many Indian religions.
• Education is embodied by palm leaf manuscript, w/ palm leaf being earlier indigenous material used for manuscripts before paper. 
• Grains to defy GB intervention of crops. Need for system of production for food. 
• Compare to Varma's Durga, which was also a highly humanized piece. Both are displayed as approachable, kind, humanlike.  Also highlights the influences of Varma on the Bengal school. Also highlights the problematic ways that A. Tagore's way of representing mother India. 
• This image is clearly for Hindu audiences. Muslims couldn't necessarily identify w/ this image. Excludes idea of the motherland for Muslims, Christians, etc. 
• For Hindus, this wasn't a strong or aggressive enough form. Especially in a time w/ so much economic & political turmoil. For many Hindus, looked way too passive. 
• Compare to Kali, lithograph used for marketing cigs to middle & lower class. Form of Durga in her most fierce form of Kali. This more aggressive image seen as more forward way to promote self-sufficiency. 
• Poem not adopted as India's national anthem, but most Indians know this song. But is sung during political conventions. 

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Kali, lithograph, 1885-1890; used for marketing cigarettes in 1908

Kali, lithograph, 1885-1890; used for marketing cigarettes in 1908

• This image is clearly for Hindu audiences. Muslims couldn't necessarily identify w/ this image. Excludes idea of the motherland for Muslims, Christians, etc. 
• Kali, lithograph used for marketing cigs to middle & lower class. Form of Durga in her most fierce form of Kali. This more aggressive image seen as more forward way to promote self-sufficiency. 

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Abanindranath Tagore, Sita in Captivity in Lanka, watercolor on paper, 1906-7

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Abanindranath Tagore, Ganesh Janani, watercolor on paper, 1910

Abanindranath Tagore, Ganesh Janani, watercolor on paper, 1910

• Ganesh is lord of obstacles and beginnings. Pan-Indian god who is also seen in Buddhism. 
• Tagore creating his own narrative. Tender moment between mother and son. Not from a specific scene from Ganesh's mythology. Landscape, wash techniques, and composition is very much taken from JP influences. Integration of pan-Asian aesthetic. Rocks in the background are seen in Chinese landscapes that is used in JP art. 
• Criticized for being offensive to time-honored depictions of Ganesh and his mother.

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Gaganendranath Tagore, Dhanyeswari, lithograph, ca. 1918

Gaganendranath Tagore, Dhanyeswari, lithograph, ca. 1918

• Critiquing social structure of the castes. Brahmins are the upper echelon of society & take the form of religious leaders & priests. Oftentimes, this status was abused. 
• These are not beneficent beings. Money was supposed to be given to temples for upkeep, but the Brahmin is shown as fat and greedy. 
• Consumption of liquor is prohibited, so is meat products. All of mnemonics are used to show the corruption of the Brahmins. 
• In epics, bees typically are shown hovering around the mouths of heroines bc they're so sweet. But the bees are shown here to show how the brahmins lie and consume alcohol. The woman being caressed is throwing manuscripts out of the window. 

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Gaganendranath Tagore, Metamorphosis: The Realm of the Absurd, lithograph, 1917

Gaganendranath Tagore, Metamorphosis: The Realm of the Absurd, lithograph, 1917

• Had a whole series of these lithographs. Here he's making fun the Bengali lifestyle of conforming to GB styles. Every morning he leaves the house in Bengali clothes, but changes into western dress in the train to go to his English job. Commentary on western values and transportation.
• Railways were main ways that people moved around the city. At the time, you had train guards that see if the train seats were properly segregated. 
• Wanted to take on the role of a "sob," the white guards on the trains. Critiques on classification systems. 

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Gaganendranath Tagore, A Cubist City, watercolor on paper, ca. 1922

Gaganendranath Tagore, A Cubist City, watercolor on paper, ca. 1922

• Example of G. Tagore's work that was exhibited besides Johannes Itten's stuff. Between 1920-1928ish, it was G. Tagore's cubist phase. Reviews were quite good.
• Praise him for the analytical nature of his cubism. Some also talk about his work and things that might've inspired him. 
• Looking through crystals and prisms, bc he owned a newly made kaleidoscope. Theatrical lighting & sets. 
• Titles are very important bc they often evoke ideas. "Cubist City" identify his interest in cubism, urbanization, the everyday experience, etc. Now we see it in a new aesthetic and palette. 

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Gaganendranath Tagore, Sat Bhai Champa, watercolor on paper, ca. 1920s

Gaganendranath Tagore, Sat Bhai Champa, watercolor on paper, ca. 1920s

• Important literary Bengali references of the 7 Champa brothers. Fantasy and set design ideas are applied to the paintings. 
• Criticized for being derivatives of EU styles, and that it wasn't "Indian" enough. The cubist syntax was seen as foreign and didn't express Indian sensibilities and feelings. Double standard bc it was okay for Picasso and Braque to derive from African masks, but it's not okay for the periphery to do it.
• Titles that force us to look for forms and scenes. Reviews for his works were for the most part encouraging.

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Rabindranath Tagore, Untitled after Primitive Art, colored ink and wash on paper, ca. 1932

Rabindranath Tagore, Untitled after Primitive Art, colored ink and wash on paper, ca. 1932

• Produced paintings from 1928-41. Growing skepticism about nationalism and national art; wanted to express universal human values over cultural specificity. 
• Interested in stream of consciousness, automatic drawing, surrealism.
• Idea about masks, simplication of forms, backgrounds. Questioning of whether they're masks or just expressions of people. Idea of automatic drawing and subconscious. Expressed the childlike quality of his art. Modernist idea that best artists tapped into their childhood. 
• Criticized for being derivatives of EU styles, and that it wasn't "Indian" enough. The cubist syntax was seen as foreign and didn't express Indian sensibilities and feelings. Double standard bc it was okay for Picasso and Braque to derive from African masks, but it's not okay for the periphery to do it.

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Rabindranath Tagore, pages from manuscripts, ink and paper, ca. 1920s-30s

• Produced paintings from 1928-41. Growing skepticism about nationalism and national art; wanted to express universal human values over cultural specificity. 
• Interested in stream of consciousness, automatic drawing, surrealism.
• Ethnographic journals published in Bengal; Oceanic and African masks.

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Nandalal Bose, Parthasarathi (Krishna as charioteer), watercolor on paper, 1912

Nandalal Bose, Parthasarathi (Krishna as charioteer), watercolor on paper, 1912

• Ajanta was interesting sight bc there were figural forms that were painted in the same ways they admired: elongated forms, melting lines, vague landscapes. Recognized that Indian's ancient past is just as superior as Greco-Roman. 
• Most well-known scholar of A. Tagore. You can see the clear influence from the Ajanta painting.
• Bose's image is not of a Buddhist subject, but of Krisha. Krisha, posing as a charioteer, talks to this character about bravery in battle. But Arjna sees people he knows in the crowd and is hesitant to fight them. Lesson is that although you are slaying down the body, you are not slaying down the soul. Forever have the connection to the divine essence.  Essence of nature, life, & existence. 
• Importance is the focus on the emotion and gesture. 
• Interest in softness of form bc referencing from large murals of Ajanta. Doesn't fully abandon line. Modeling figures that are copied from ancient aesthetics. Highlighting of form through white rather than casting things in deep shadows. 

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Nandalal Bose, Shiva Drinking Poison, watercolor on paper, 1911

Nandalal Bose, Shiva Drinking Poison, watercolor on paper, 1911

• Using less fierce images of Shiva so that he's asceticism. But can be identified by his long hair.
• Asceticism - severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.
• Sitting picture of Shiva on the left is him sacrificing himself for the sake of humanity. A poison had contaminated the cosmic water, and he offered to scoop it up & consume it in order to save humanity. He held the poison in his throat for eons before the poison dissipated & he could drink it. 
• Using white as a way to highlight form was seen in Ajanta figures. Interest in softness of form bc referencing from large murals of Ajanta. Doesn't fully abandon line. Modeling figures that are copied from ancient aesthetics.
• Models that served as imagery for Hindu texts and gods. 
• Importance is the focus on the emotion and gesture. 

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Nandalal Bose, Drawings for murals of the Ploughing Festival, 1928

Nandalal Bose, Drawings for murals of the Ploughing Festival, 1928

• One long strip image. Documented very first Ploughing Festival where R. Tagore takes over the plough. Community even that would unite campus members and people w/ the earth. Agricultural life that is elevated. Bridged villagers & students. 
• Have been repainted & retouched. Interest in blending of styles coming out of Ajanta. Interested in the use of line bc reproduced on a large scale & readable from afar. Not concerned w/ naturalism & ground lines. Vitality w/ movement, tapping into rhythm of life. 
• Decorative motifs from Ajanta. Tested many different methods of mural making that had legacy in the past. Final creation were modern works, not copies. 
• Ashram life at Shantiniketan. Universal human spirit that is collaborative, not individual. Things such as the plowing festival, changing of seasons, etc. Importance w/ being able to commune w/ nature. 
• Folk life of the region. Unlike some of the other artists, Bose grew up in a village. 

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Nandalal Bose and Rabindranath Tagore, for a Bengali primer titled Easy Reader (Sahaj Path), linocut on paper, 1930s

Nandalal Bose and Rabindranath Tagore, for a Bengali primer titled Easy Reader (Sahaj Path), linocut on paper, 1930s

• Linocuts that were created in order to assist teaching Bengali, since English is disruptive. Sometimes Bose would create the images after R. Tagore would write the poems. 
• The poems would emphasize the syllables that would be used for speaking. 
• Showed nobility in seemingly simple village life. Showed how these daily rituals were important. 

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Nandalal Bose and students, Posters for the Indian National Congress Convention, Haripura, tempera on paper, 1938

Nandalal Bose and students, Posters for the Indian National Congress Convention, Haripura, tempera on paper, 1938

• Bose was charged w/ reproducing village townships. Before these cons, Bose would tour these villages, collect the art, and then exhibit them. Industrial art was brought in to be shown as India's fine art. Featured regional practices to show diversity. Had to construct buildings & structures for residences of the congress members, and was to use all local materials (mud, bamboo, reed, thatch, timber). Was at these sites months before the con. Mimics village architectural forms.
• Poster shown were produced by Bose and students of Shantiniketan. Bull handler festivals. Posters were produced on large scale and were placed on structures everywhere during the con. Reminded congressmen of nobility of village life. Visually linked through this window/framework that makes us feel like we're getting a glimpse of village life. Indo-Islamic arched window form.
• Parrot trope is used in order to empathize w/ common village life symbols.
• Presented in very energetic and expressive lines. Remember comments about trying to identify life's rhythms in forms. Gives very gestural effect & done rapidly. 

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M.K. Gandhi, Bharat Mata (Mother India) Temple, Benares, 1936

M.K. Gandhi, Bharat Mata (Mother India) Temple, Benares, 1936

• Gandhi isn't a significant patron of the arts, but creates first temple to Mother India. Theme is something everyone knows and that is on everyone's tongues. Created in India's most sacred city (esp. for Hindus). 
• Although it's a temple, looks almost like a GB administrative building, not Hindu structure. But that was done in order to emphasize secularism. 
• At the entrance, lots of ancient Indian motifs. Although mentioning of Hindu gods, wanted to focus more on the topography. There's a large, marble relief of the entire country. 
• No images of gods or goddesses. Wanted to promote unity of the country. Originally India was anthropomorphized, but she looked too much like a Hindu deity. Which was too divisive and didn't promote unity. 

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Nandalal Bose, Radha’s Viraha (Radha’s Longing), tempera on silk, 1939

Nandalal Bose, Radha’s Viraha (Radha’s Longing), tempera on silk, 1939

• Radha and Krishna had special affinity for one another. Painting shows what happens when they're away from another. She pines for him to come back.
• Secret meeting between Krishna & Radha, symbolized union of human and divine. Read allegorically as human soul searching for this essence of the divine. Radha often had a lot of female friends that helped her encounter Krishna. Yearning for this universal bliss. 
• Painting is symbolic about how one should constantly pine for God, family, and other connections in life. Very similar to other rajput paintings with elongated forms, foliage, subject matter. However the forms show some blending of Egyptian aesthetics, but traditions of past cultures was very important to him. 

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Nandalal Bose, New Clouds, tempera on paper, 1937

Nandalal Bose, New Clouds, tempera on paper, 1937

• Presented in a way where they're either hurrying to the fields or hurrying home. Emphasized the importance of the monsoon season. Interaction between human activity, growth/nature, climatic activity. Shows how everything is interdependent on each other. 
• Ashram life at Shantiniketan. Universal human spirit that is collaborative, not individual. Things such as the plowing festival, changing of seasons, etc. Importance w/ being able to commune w/ nature. 

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Nandalal Bose, Floating a Canoe, ink on paper, 1947

Nandalal Bose, Floating a Canoe, ink on paper, 1947

• These people were deemed ritually polluting due to caste system. During Gandhi's period, this was a serious problem. But in the village system, there were social hierarchy. 
• Presents bodies of the people in the same gestural way as the canoe, the waves, and other forms. Unified w/ nature. 
• Process of constantly sketching & trying to find that life rhythm. Painting process is a whole new process, but that is only after you've invested in looking for the natural rhythm
• Aim: to capture the subject and the moment briefly, to deliberate form, to describe it and to give it life.

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 Nandalal Bose, Cover and pages from the Constitution of India, Government of India, 1950

 Nandalal Bose, Cover and pages from the Constitution of India, Government of India, 1950

• In 1950, India gains its independence. Bose was invited to create & illustrate the consti. The marginalia are all motifs influenced by ajanta. 
• Fanciful borders could be derived from Mughal paintings. 
• Ajanta was interesting sight bc there were figural forms that were painted in the same ways they admired: elongated forms, melting lines, vague landscapes. Recognized that Indian's ancient past is just as superior as Greco-Roman.