Rediscovering Haripura Panels: Nandalal Bose

National Gallery of Modern Art

National Gallery of Modern Art

Cotton Spinning (1937) by Nandalal BoseNational Gallery of Modern Art

Foreword

NGMA has a resplendent repository with 6800 works of
art of Nandalal Bose as paintings, graphic prints, drawings and sketches.  Among
these works we have the landmark suite of temperas popularly known as Haripura
Posters painted in 1938 commissioned by Mahatama Gandhi to decorate the pandal
for the Congress session at Haripura. 

Milking of Cow, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Mahatma Gandhi had wanted something that would be accessible to the common people visiting the session. Elements of the language of the folk arts were skillfully used in defining form.

Mother Bathing her Child, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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These bold paintings of common people like the tailer, the drummer, the gardener, the woman cooking and so on have achieved an outstanding stature in the history of modern Indian art.

Mother Feeding her Child, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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The NGMA had mounted this exhibition of Haripura Panels for a new generation of art lovers and for a generation who would pleasurably recollect these images, to observe and appreciate this brilliant set of paintings that had been a signpost in the trajectory of Modern Indian art.

Mother feeding her child, Nandalal Bose, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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House Wife, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Cooking (1937) by Nandalal BoseNational Gallery of Modern Art

 Nandalal  visited  Vithalnagar, a small settlement near Haripura in Gujarat, India and spent
many weeks observing local life and village culture, sketching fervently.

Pounding of Rice, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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In these sketches the artist renders, in subtle yet meticulous line drawings, serene landscapes, bullock carts and the local women of the village, busy in their daily chores.

A Woman Husking, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Winnowing, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"For him art was not an elitist activity catering to the dilettante taste of aristocratic patrons. Art was a principle that informed all types of creative activity and it was related to social need."
- Jaya Appasamy

Butter milk churner, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"Nandalal thought of himself as a worker who had a certain responsibility to fulfil. His dharama was to create works that added to and enriched culture, a culture that was not for the few but for the many."
- Jaya Appasamy

Cutting Vegetables, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"He visited the locale and studied the ethos of the place. He came up with a style that was imaginative, inspired, fluid and spontaneous."
- Jaya Appasamy

Wool Spinning, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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After Bath, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Toilet, Nandalal Bose, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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He devised an imagery that would communicate itself to the ordinary village folk. Elements of the language of the folk arts were skillfully used in defining form.

A Lady with a Lotus, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"The Mahatma called him to decorate the Haripura Congress pavilion (1938) . He did this with four hundred painted wall-insets (generally referred to as ‘posters’) of which about a hundred he did in his own hand and left the rest to be copied from these by associates."
- K.G Subramanyan

A Lady with Coconut, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Expecting the Beloved (1937) by Nandalal BoseNational Gallery of Modern Art

"These were painted on paper, stretched on
cheap straw- board, portraying different aspects of Indian life, in an
astonishing breezy style like the traditional ‘patas’ but the images and the
treatment ere unmistakably Nandalal’s." - K.G Subramanyan

Pranam, Nandalal Bose, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"He considered art as more of a vocation (to answer an inner calling) than a mere profession."
- K.G Subramanyan

Chrysanthemum with a Green Bird, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Palas Flower, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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In his works, the search for a utopia is informed and directed by a deep consciousness of his immediate environment and surroundings.

Gharavadan, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"While Nandalal had a great respect for the Indian tradition, he was not a mere copyist as has often been supposed. The past to him was a source of principles and ideas; it had an artistic grammar, that was a discipline for hand and eye."
- Jaya Appasamy

Dugdugiwali, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Veena Vadini, Nandalal Bose, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Rudra Veena by Nandalal BoseNational Gallery of Modern Art

"The past was valid in the present only when the artist could truly
inherit its riches by understanding its artistic meaning. It yielded the
secrets of thousands of artists who mere our forbears, whose thought has
formulated our thought, whose sense of beauty we inherit as a racial memory." - Jaya Appasamy

Manjira Player, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"In spiritual sadhana or discipline the search is for the Unity of creation at the heart of diversity, it is to find the One by knowing which you know the all. In a similar manner art too moves towards its own vision of unity."
- Nandalal Bose

A Singer, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"The past cannot be re-created since the conditions of its history that determined it no longer exist. But like the legacy of our philosophy and music, poetry and drama it is a perennial source of nourishment."
- Jaya Appasamy

Singawala, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Dhaki, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"He did not lower himself to the collective consciousness but raised that consciousness to a higher level refining it with taste, order and style."
- Jaya Appasamy

Sarangiwala, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Shahnaiwala, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Srikhol- Player, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Dhol Wala (1937) by Nandalal BoseNational Gallery of Modern Art

As a model he chose the village structures and
huts. He made gates and welcome arches, decorative pandals all out of local
materials where the painted panels were distributed- making a rural setting
which merges with the landscape and the village scene and yet stood – out grand
and lofty.

Baul, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Khanjani Wali, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Mangal Ghat, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"His themes are imaginative figures, stylized and imbued with his love for decorative form."
- K.G. Subramanyan

Mangala Asan, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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A Decorative Flagon, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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A Writer, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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A Lady Artist, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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A Potter, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"Rhythm was emphasized by the reiteration of lines by curvilinear movements, attenuation, repetition and dots. He did not favour geometrical design or arabesques but preferred the lyrical movements which are characteristic of Bengal."
- Jaya Appasamy

A Pandit, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Pith Worker, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Chaamar Dharani, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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A Female Attendant, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"...he grasps the ethos of Bengal countryside and its human drama with a graphic immediacy born of a sound understanding of Far Eastern brush techniques."
- K.G. Subramanyam

A Gardener, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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After preliminary interests with the medium of earth paints and folk style painting during his school days in 1908- 1909, Nandalal Bose once again displayed his genius in the same format for realizing the Haripura posters.

Chaamar (A whisk), Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Blacksmith (1937) by Nandalal BoseNational Gallery of Modern Art

This was also a reflecting
trend for the artist, who had by now moved away from the wash technique, mainly
portraying the mythological subjects. He enthusiastically toured the villages
around Haripura to study the life of common people engaged in diverse conduct.

 

A Dhuniya (A Cotton- Carder), Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Shepherds, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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A Washerman, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Carpenter, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Paper Making, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Ear Cleaner (1937) by Nandalal BoseNational Gallery of Modern Art

 "They have a strong impact with bold and free brush work, gay and bright colors-as paintings meant for villagers portraying village life, scenes from everyday life to which people could respond easily." - Sankho Chaudhuri 

Tailor, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Cobbler, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Tiller of the soil, Nandalal Bose, 1938, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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It was through drawing that he expressed himself and created a personal idiom. His style is easily recognized by its linear fluency, plasticity and strength.

Chariot with the National Flag (1937) by Nandalal BoseNational Gallery of Modern Art

"With these, almost every Indian came to know him. Gandhi openly said
that here was a man who could make art out of anything. After giving him the
credit for such wizardry he made him from that day his mentor on all matters
relating to art or design."   - K.G. Subramanyam

Rati with her Bow, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"The gestures and bodily movements are those seen in our ancient art as much a sin the stance and gait of contemporary people. Nandalal’s achievement was to grasp the essence of form with a minimum of means."
-Jaya Appasamy

Jain Warrior with Sword, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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A Dom Warrior, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Wrestler (1937) by Nandalal BoseNational Gallery of Modern Art

“...the plasticity of this art harmonizes with its simultaneous graphic and
linear quality... the lines are like those that define Indian sculpture. They are taut and have a tensile
strength, though executed with the brush. They are informed with style."  Jaya Appasamy

Lady on a Horse, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Mughal Warrior, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Warrior with curved sword, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"...his works are not mere imitations of form, they are intellectually ordered, controlled by the logic of pictorial necessity and function."
- Jaya Appasamy

Hunter, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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A Peacock, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"His research and enquiry into animal, plant and bird forms show both analysis and synthesis, a perception of the relationships of parts and their proportions."
- Jaya Appasamy

A Goat, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Swan, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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"The shapes of natural objects were memorized and reduced to design elements that appeared and reappeared in his works. Nature was for him an inexhaustible treasure house of forms."
- Jaya Appasamy

A Bull (1937) by Nandalal BoseNational Gallery of Modern Art

Nandalal’s artistic merit comprises a critical appreciation of tradition conveyed with great felicity and intense beauty. His works stand in testimony to the live, alive, and lived experiences of Indian society.

Lion, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Chrysanthemum with a Gray Bird, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Nandalal Bose, popularly known as the Master Moshai, was born on December 3rd, 1882 in Kharagpur, Monghyr District, Bihar. A disciple of Abanindranath Tagore, he graduated from Government School of Art, Calcutta in 1910.

Fox, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Nandalal was fascinated by the potential of folk art and indigenous modes of expression and inculcated them in his works although stylising them in a unique representation for depiction and narration of local life.

Camel, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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His explorative temperament with artistic materials allowed him to create a vast body of work. Nandalal Bose's art conjures newness unbound, yet it is flushed with the memories of yesterday.

A Lion, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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Inspired by Far Eastern sensibilities that celebrate the traditional, the genius of his art lies in the interplay of sensual silhouettes and his powerful rendering of contemporary themes with the traditions, customs and sensibilities of Indian heritage.

Flying Figure, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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It is this intermingling that invigorates his works and captures the minds of his viewers. He began his artistic career in the fervour of the Swadeshi movement, rejecting western colonial norms of art and taking inspiration from the ancient murals of Ajanta and Bagh caves as well as Mughal miniatures.

Sitting Figure with a Pair of Wings on the Head, Nandalal Bose, 1937, From the collection of: National Gallery of Modern Art
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His works reflect the changing landscape, portraying people and places at a time when modern India's cultural development was at its threshold. Nandalal Bose died on April 16th, 1966 in Santiniketan, West Bengal. He won several accolades including the Padma Vibhushan by the President of India in 1953.

Credits: Story

-The exhibition "Rediscovering Haripura Panels: Nandalal Bose" was showcased at the NGMA Delhi. The exhibition was opened for public viewing on 30th June 2016, it is currently still on view.

-Exhibition narrated by National Gallery of Modern Art Delhi.

Bibliography

-Jaya Appasamy, "Nandalal- Master Draughtsman: Jaya Appasamy" in Nandalal Bose (1882-1966) Cenetary Exhibiton.(New Delhi National Gallery of Modern Art,1983)

-K.G. Subramanyam, "Nandalal Bose: A Biographical Sketch" in Nandalal Bose (1882-1966) Cenetary Exhibiton.(New Delhi National Gallery of Modern Art,1983)

-Sankho Chaudhuri "Haripura Posters: Sankho Chaudhuri"in Nandalal Bose (1882-1966) Cenetary Exhibiton.(New Delhi National Gallery of Modern Art,1983)

- Sonya Rhie Quintanilla, Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose.(San Diego Museum of Art,2008)

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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