Context
Year-long celebrations marking 150 years of Abanindranath Tagore, titled Abanindranath at 150: Bichitra Revisited, is being organised jointly by Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, and DAG.
- Victoria Memorial Hall is the custodian of the Rabindra Bharati Society collection, the single-largest collection of works by the artist.
Who was Abanindranath?
- Abanindranath (7 August 1871 - 5 December 1951) was the nephew of Rabindranath Tagore (a decade younger to the poet).
- He helped shape modern Indian art and was the creator of the iconic ‘Bharat Mata’ painting.
- He was the principal artist and creator of the 'Indian Society of Oriental Art' and the first major exponent of swadeshi values in Indian art.
- He first created the ‘Indian Society of Oriental Art’ and later went on to establish Bengal school of art.
- He sought to modernize Mughal and Rajput styles in order to counter the influence of Western models of art, as taught in Art Schools under the British Raj and developed an Indian style of painting, later known as Bengal school of art.
- Literature: Most of his literary works were meant for children. Some of his books like ‘BudoAngla’, ‘KhirerPutul’ and ‘Rajkahini’ are best examples of Bengali children's literature.
