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Gaganendranath Tagore (17 September 1867 – 14 February 1938) was an Bengali painter and
Gaganendranath received no formal education but trained under the watercolourist Harinarayan Bandopadhyay. In 1907, along with his brother Abanindranath, he founded the Indian Society of Oriental Art which later published the influential journal ''Rupam''. Between 1906 and 1910, the artist studied and assimilated Japanese brush techniques and the influence of Far Eastern art into his own work, as demonstrated by his illustrations for Rabindranath Tagore's autobiography ''Jeevansmriti'' (1912). He went on to develop his own approach in his ''Chaitanya'' and ''Pilgrim'' series. Gaganendranath eventually abandoned the revivalism of the Bengal School and took up caricature. The ''Modern Review'' published many of his cartoons in 1917. From 1917 onwards, his satirical lithographs appeared in a series of books, including ''Play of Opposites'', ''Realm of the Absurd'' and ''Reform Screams''.
Between 1920 and 1925, Gaganendranath pioneered experiments in modernist painting. Partha Mitter describes him as "the only Indian painter before the 1940s who made use of the language and syntax of Cubism in his painting". From 1925 onwards, the artist developed a complex post-cubist style.
Gaganendranath also took a keen interest in theatre, and wrote a children's book in the manner of Lewis Carroll, ''Bhodor Bahadur'' ('Otter the Great').
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cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
of the Bengal school
The Bengal School of Art, commonly referred as Bengal School, was an art movement and a style of Indian painting that originated in Bengal, primarily Kolkata and Shantiniketan, and flourished throughout the Indian subcontinent, during the Britis ...
. Along with his brother Abanindranath Tagore
Abanindranath Tagore ( Bengali: অবনীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 August 1871 – 5 December 1951) was the principal artist and creator of the "Indian Society of Oriental Art". He was also the first major exponent of Sw ...
, he was counted as one of the earliest modern art
Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...
ists in India.
Life and career
Gaganendranath Tagore was born atJorasanko
Jorasanko is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. It is so called because of the two (''jora'') wooden or bamboo bridges (''sanko'') that spanned a small stream at this point.
History
Apart from the disti ...
into a family whose creativity defined Bengal's cultural life. Gaganendranath was the eldest son of Gunendranath Tagore, grandson of Girindranath Tagore and a great-grandson of Prince Dwarkanath Tagore
Dwarkanath Tagore ( bn, দ্বারকানাথ ঠাকুর, ''Darokanath Ţhakur''; 1794–1846) was one of the first Indian industrialists to form an enterprise with British partners. He was the son of Ramlochon Tagore, the founder ...
. His brother Abanindranath was a pioneer and leading exponent of the Bengal School of Art. He was a nephew of the poet Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
and the paternal great-grandfather of actress Sharmila Tagore
Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the F ...
.
Gaganendranath received no formal education but trained under the watercolourist Harinarayan Bandopadhyay. In 1907, along with his brother Abanindranath, he founded the Indian Society of Oriental Art which later published the influential journal ''Rupam''. Between 1906 and 1910, the artist studied and assimilated Japanese brush techniques and the influence of Far Eastern art into his own work, as demonstrated by his illustrations for Rabindranath Tagore's autobiography ''Jeevansmriti'' (1912). He went on to develop his own approach in his ''Chaitanya'' and ''Pilgrim'' series. Gaganendranath eventually abandoned the revivalism of the Bengal School and took up caricature. The ''Modern Review'' published many of his cartoons in 1917. From 1917 onwards, his satirical lithographs appeared in a series of books, including ''Play of Opposites'', ''Realm of the Absurd'' and ''Reform Screams''.
Between 1920 and 1925, Gaganendranath pioneered experiments in modernist painting. Partha Mitter describes him as "the only Indian painter before the 1940s who made use of the language and syntax of Cubism in his painting". From 1925 onwards, the artist developed a complex post-cubist style.
Gaganendranath also took a keen interest in theatre, and wrote a children's book in the manner of Lewis Carroll, ''Bhodor Bahadur'' ('Otter the Great').
Works
* ''Adbhut Lok: realm of the absurd'', 1917, Calcutta: Vichitra Press, a portfolio of thirteen satirical pictures. * ''Naba Hullod: Reform screams; a pictorial review at the close of the year 1921'', 1921, Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. * ''Birupa bajra (Play of Opposites)'', 1930, Calcutta: Preonath Das Gupta for the Indian Publishing House. * ''Bhondor bahadur'', Kolkata: Shishu Sahitya Samsad, 1998, classic children's bookSee also
*Tagore family
The Tagore family (also spelled as ''Thakur''), with over three hundred years of history,Deb, Chitra, pp 64–65. has been one of the leading families of Calcutta, India, and is regarded as one of the key influencers during the Bengali Renaissa ...
References
Further reading
* * Partha Mitter, ''The Triumph of Modernism: India’s artists and the avant-garde 1922-1947'', London, 2007 * (Memoir by Gaganedranath's daughter, in Bengali)External links
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The Films Division of India (FDI), commonly referred as Films Division, was established in 1948 following the independence of India. It was the first state film production and distribution unit, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcastin ...
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Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
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National Gallery of Modern Art
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagore, Gaganendranath
Indian cartoonists
1867 births
1938 deaths
Artists from Kolkata
Indian painters
Indian artists
Indian male artists
Indian male painters
Gaganendranath
Bengali Hindus
Bengali male artists
19th-century Indian painters
19th-century Indian artists
20th-century Indian painters
20th-century Indian artists
20th-century Indian writers
20th-century Indian male writers
20th-century Bengalis
19th-century Bengalis
People from West Bengal
People from Kolkata district