Gaganendranath Tagore was born on on 18th of September, 1867, at Jorasanko in the Tagore family home in Calcutta. He was the nephew of Rabindranath Tagore. Though he didn't receive any formal education in painting later became a prominent figure of Bengal School of Art. He founded the Indian Society of Oriental Art along with his brother Abanindranath Tagore. Gaganendranath was
inspired by Japaneese painting techniques, especially Yokoyama Taikan and other Far
Eastern styles, between the years 1906 and 1910. Also he got inspirations from European experimental art like Cubism and used geometric compositions in Indian/Oriental context, build up his own brand of Cubism. Maybe he was the first to use these types of try outs fruitfully.
However he is best known for his political cartoons and social satires on Westernised Bengalis. His work was exhibited in the 22nd exhibition de Societe des peintres orientalistes francais (1914) in Paris, London, Belgium and Holland, and in a travelling exhibition organised by the American Federation of Art and ISOA (1924) in London and Germany, and he exhibited in the Athene Gallery in Geneva in 1928.
Rabindranath Tagore, his uncle commented
on his art, thus, in 1938: "What profoundly attracted me was the uniqueness
of his creation, a lively curiosity in his constant experiments, and some
mysterious depth in their imaginative value. Closely surrounded by the
atmosphere of a new art movement ... he sought out his own untrodden path
of adventure, attempted marvelous experiments in coloring and made fantastic
trials in the magic of light and shade."
Died in 1938.
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Magician (1925)
Water Color |
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Himalayan Bride |
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Rabindranath Tagore in the Island of Birds |
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Composition |