Nandalal Bose

Collection of the artist, Santiniketan
By descent in 1962, American private collection

natural irregularities to paper, areas of foxing and staining visible in catalogue illustration, minute tear upper right edge, unframed
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'The paintings and graphic works of Nandalal Bose are filled with intense beauty and endless invention.  Remarkable as the works of art, they also reflect the trajectory of modern India's cultural development from a proud and ancient people held fast in the grip of a colonial power, to a nation struggling for independence, to a newly sovereign state defining its own cultural identity.  For these reasons, Nandalal merits a prominent place in the history of twentieth-century art throughout the world.' (Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose, San Diego, 2008, p. 22.)

'Between 1951 and mid 1960s, Nandalal painted primarily using Japanese brush and "Sumi," Japanese ink and finished with a signature, date and red seal.  He used variations of style used by Chinese poet painters called "hsieh-yi" and the Japanese pictorial idiom called "hoboku."  At this stage, "His subjects were no longer mythological or Iconic – instead they all pertain to nature.  Although by the early 1960s some of his paintings had become minimalist and abstract, even the simplest strokes have a referent in nature, and they are made with the same motivation: seeking to find nature's life rhythm. ... Such complexity and subtlety in Nandalal's engagement with Pan-Asianism reveal the very traditionally Indian structure of his life, which began with apprenticeship, was followed by his years as a householder and professional in the public arena, and ended with what amounted to a renunciation of society and a turn toward a deep, inward-looking spirituality. '(ibid pp. 208-209)