Rabindranath Tagore founded a small school at
Santiniketan in 1901 and Kala Bhavan, an art
school, in 1919 which later became a part of the
Visvabharati University founded in 1921. Located
in an idyllic village some distance from the
city of Calcutta, Kala Bhavan presented an
alternative methodology of art training, in
which studio based practice was rejected in
favour of learning through observation and
living as a part of nature. The natural
surroundings with the vistas of bare red earth
dotted with trees, the colours of the changing
seasons, the animals and birds provided
inspiration to students who worked under the
tutelage of artists like Nandlal Bose, who were
themselves significant figures in the
development of modern Indian art.
Utilising varied artistic strategies both in
theme and medium, the work of artists like
Nandalal Bose, BB Mukherjee and Ram Kinker Baij
chart a pictorial history of India in the most
significant decades of its fight for
independence.
BB Mukherjee
Birbhum in Summer, Tempera on cloth, 26.8 X 26.7 cm
BB Mukherjee
The Bridge, Tempera on cloth, 60.7 X 47.5 cm
Ramkinkar Baij
Seascape A, Watercolour, 27.3 X 17 cm
Ramkinkar Baij
Summer Noon, Oil on gunny cloth, 122 X 106.5 cm
Nandalal Bose
Krihnachura Flower, Tempera, 33 X 68 cm
BB Mukherjee
Adam and Eve, Collage, 21 X 33 cm
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