Portrait

Abanindranath Tagore was the founder of the nationalist Bengal School of Art, India's first modern art movement. Critical of western techniques taught in colonial art schools in India, he sought to create an authentic Indian style free of western influence. He found a friend in E. B. Havell, Principal of the Government School of Art and Craft, Calcutta, who invited Abanindranath to be the Vice Principal of the School.

Havell encouraged him to study Rajput and Mughal paintings, and these, along with Japanese art, heavily influenced Abanindranath's works. He was an extremely influential teacher for many early modern artists, including Nandalal Bose and Jamini Roy.