Abanindranath Tagore

Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951), born in Kolkata, West Bengal. was the nephew of the renowned poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore. Belonging to a creative league of ancestors, Abanindranath was inherently inclined to visual art. In the mid-1890s several of his paintings were reproduced in Chitrangada and Sadhana magazine, published by Tagore. Under the guidance of the vice principal of the Government School of Art, he started his excursion in the formal art training with a sharp focus on traditional European painting styles. It was during this period that he fostered a deep inclination with Mughal art, rejecting the colonial imposition.

Abanindranath has worked with several subjects, ranging across myriad application styles. Despite endocentric patriotism, the colonial style had become commonplace within the British art community, induced by Pre-Raphaelites. A proponent of the swadeshi movement, Tagore saw western artistic styles as "materialistic”, and that India needs to remind itself of its own customs to recuperate its natural spiritual roots. Abanindranath’s works revolved around establishing this ideal retaining indigenous values. Essentially, it was based on the notion of progressive Indian culture. Many of his series like Arabian Nights, among others, trace heavy influences of Mughal, Japanese and tribal representations.

Also, his works show the impact of Whistler's Aestheticism. English art critics had begun appreciating this “Indianness”, particularly when the ascent in the impact of Hindu mysticism became popular. Abanindranath was instrumental in motivating a generation of artists in focussing on the Indian way of representation and breaking the European norms compulsively. The chronology of his oeuvre specifically notifies us of this constant desire and becoming an influential mentor.

After his death, Tagore's oldest child, Alokendranath, gave almost the entire family collection of Abanindranath’s work to the recently established Rabindra Bharati Society Trust. Abanindranth Tagore was an influential figure, which stood at a seminal junction of Indian modernism, shaping the future art community!