About Abanindranath Tagore

Born in 1871 in Kolkata, Abanindranath Tagore is one of most gifted portrait painters that India has produced. He is often regarded as the father of modern Indian art and his works are declared as National Art Treasures by the Government of India. He mastered painting lessons from British and Italian instructors - Olinto Gilhardi (then Vice – President of Government School of Art, Kolkata) and Charles Palmer (from Royal College of Art, London) respectively - and became versatile in Japanese brushwork under the training of Yokoyama Taikan. He quickly matured as a painter, absorbing ideas and developing his own oeuvre.

Abanindranath made the environment, human beings and the regular society as his subjects. He could paint beautiful landscapes and scenery with water colour. He also took keen interests in international style like Indo-Persian works, Chinese and Japanese calligraphic but the revival of Indian arts turned to be his main ambition. He played a huge role in revival of old Indian Art that he has set up the field for renaissance of Bengal Arts and paintings. Abanindranath’s talent with the brush and his unorthodox teaching methods earned him repute at the Government College of Art at Kolkata, where he joined as the vice-principal under Dr. E.B. Havell. Havell was instrumental in freeing Abanindranath from European influences and drawing his attention to Mughal and Rajput styles. In 1907, he established the Indian Society of Oriental Art and founded The Bengal School, which was responsible in pioneering the Bengal Revivalist movement. Arabian Nights, Krishnalila, Lovelorn Yaksha, Devadasi are some of his well known works. Krishnalila, a set of paintings, is a blend of Indian and European styles. His paintings have been exhibited in Paris, London, and Tokyo. He passed away in 1951.