Important Notice

“The purpose of all arts is the same. Poetry, sculpture, painting, dance, music and the rest want to capture the rhythm of delight inherent in all creation.” - NANDALAL BOSE

One of India’s most influential Bengal School artists, Nandalal Bose sought to reinvigorate Indian art by rooting it back in Indian tradition, shunning the Western academic approach to art that prevailed at the time. “Although Nandalal Bose was well aware of... “The purpose of all arts is the same. Poetry, sculpture, painting, dance, music and the rest want to capture the rhythm of delight inherent in all creation.” - NANDALAL BOSE

One of India’s most influential Bengal School artists, Nandalal Bose sought to reinvigorate Indian art by rooting it back in Indian tradition, shunning the Western academic approach to art that prevailed at the time. “Although Nandalal Bose was well aware of the prevailing international trends in arts, he remained nationalistic to the core. He invariably preferred oriental to Western trends which he improvised and transformed so that his conceptual and visual manifestations were truly Indian.” (Pran Nath Mago, Contemporary Art in India: A Perspective, New Delhi: National Book Trust, 2001, p. 34)

Bose believed in an amalgamation of artistic styles - the photorealist approach of both his early muses were fused with a more indigenous approach to his subjects. For him, “originality, nature and tradition” were the three primary elements of art, as is evident in his body of works as well as lots 67 and 68. (Abhilasha Ojha quoted in Kishore Singh ed., “Nandalal Bose,” Masterpieces of Indian Modern Art II, New Delhi: DAG, 2017, p. 137) He also adapted Chinese and Japanese techniques, such as calligraphy and wash, to suit an Indian ethos. However, “the essential ingredients of his mature style were drawn from the artistic traditions of the Ajanta and miniature schools.” (Mago, p. 34) Bose was deeply influenced by mythology, the Upanishads, and other Indian doctrines, which formed the theoretical basis of his works.

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