Accn. Number 16424

A day with Gurudev | Oil on cardboard

by Elizabeth Brunner

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), popularly known as ‘Gurudev’, was born in an affluent Family. The maestro was fascinated by the worlds of literature, art, music and dance at an early age. In 1913, he became the first Indian to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature for his collection 'Geetanjali'. He also wrote the National Anthems of India and Bangladesh. He left his imprint on art and played a role in transforming its practices and ushering into modernism.

Rabindranath Tagore was primarily known as a writer, poet, playwright, philosopher and aesthetician, music composer and choreographer, founder of a unique educational institution - Visva- Bharati. Tagore's emergence as a painter began in 1928 when he was 67 years old.

For him, it was as an extension to his poetic consciousness. Beginning with scratching and erasures on the pages of his manuscripts during the mid-20s of the 20th Century, he slowly moved to portraying independent images.

Between 1928 and 1940, Rabindranath painted more than 2000 images. He never gave any title to his paintings. Fed by memories and the subconscious, Rabindranath's art was spontaneous and dramatic. His images did not represent the phenomenal world but an interior reality.

His work of art were first exhibited in Paris in 1930 and then across Europe and America. Henceforth they gained international recognition. Rabindranath veered towards abstraction in his figuration. His works depict a great sense of fantasy, rhythm and vitality. A powerful imagination added an enigmatic strangeness and a sense of depth to his works. One is overwhelmed by the awe-inspiring figures of birds and humans and semi-abstract forms. The energy of his works is counterbalanced by a cool precision and lyricism. Tagore celebrated creative freedom in his technique; he never hesitated to daub coloured ink on paper to give life to his subjects. His drawings and ink paintings are freely executed with brushes, rags, cotton-wool and even his fingers. For Tagore, art was the bridge that connected the individual with the world. Being the modernist he was; Tagore completely belonged to the world of his time particularly in the realm of art. Expressionism in European art and the primitive art of ancient cultures inspired him. Fantasy, wild imagination and an innate feel for the absurd gave a distinctive character to his visual language. His works have been an inspiration to the artists in India as well as across the world.

The National Gallery of Modern Art has a representative collection of his imagery.

Literary Reference:

1) Parimoo, Ratan. Ed 'Rabindranath Tagore', New Delhi, Lalit Kala Akademi, 1989 2) Robinson, Andrew, 'The Art of Rabindranath Tagore', Calcutta, Rupa&Co., 1989 3) Pal, Pratapaditya. Ed 'Something Old, Something New Rabindranath Tagore' Marg Publications, 2011 4) Siva Kumar, R., 'Rabindra Chitravali', 4 Vols. and Catalogue, Calcutta, Pratikshan and others, 2011 5) Siva Kumar, R., Ed., 'The Last Harvest: Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore', Ahmedabad, Mapin Publishing and others, 2011 6) Siva Kumar, R., 'Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism', New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art, 1997.