The Emergence of Indian Modernism: Santiniketan and The Bengal School

This image shows Abanindranath Tagore (top, second from left) with his first batch of students at the Government School of Art in Kolkata.
Often working on his own painting while his students worked on theirs, he believed in nurturing the essential qualities of an artist, such as critical thought and a thirst for knowledge.

This drawing by Sarada Ukil, a student of Abanindranath Tagore, was probably inspired by the poem Meghaduta (The Cloud Messenger), written by classical Indian poet Kalidasa. Meghaduta, composed in the 5th Century CE, is a Sanskrit sandesha kavya or "message poem" that invokes the beauty of the monsoons in India.

Mukul Dey (1895-1989) was an early student of Rabindranath Tagore's. As early as 1916, Dey began travelling widely with Abanindranath Tagore to Japan and the USA, studying printmaking. He pioneered the dry-point etching technique in India.

On his return to India, he generated hundreds of images of Indian life using this European medium. His subjects were river scenes in Bengal, bazaars in Calcutta or depictions of rural life in the Birbhum District.

Also in the same picture are Nandalal Bose (second row, on the right of the idol), one of Santiniketan's most influential teachers, Asit Haldar (first row, second from left) and Kshindranath Majumdar (first row, extreme right).

In 1919, artist Nandalal Bose was at the helm of Kala Bhavana, the Fine Arts Department at Rabindranath Tagore's Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan. Students worked closely with teachers. Ordinary people and rural life became the focus of Santiniketan artists like Ramkinker Baij and BB Mukherjee.

As a student in 1909, Nandalal Bose visited the Ajanta and Ellora Caves. The unfathomable beauty of the historic caves left a lasting impression, and the ancient site continued to serve as inspiration through his artistic career. This sketch in the Kerala Museum collection is his study of a mural in the Ajanta Cave No. 2, depicting the Buddha's mother, Maya.

Benode Behari Mukherjee joined Santiniketan as a student and later became an influential teacher at the school. A versatile artist, he experimented with various art forms and mediums, including painting, calligraphy and murals.

Strong dynamic lines that signify movement characterise his work. A monumental mural, his most celebrated work in Santiniketan, on the lives of medieval saints of India, was made after he had lost sight in 1956. He continued working although he preferred more tactile mediums such as collage and printmaking.

Ramkinkar Baij was one of India's leading modern sculptors. He taught and worked in Santiniketan for most of his life. His large figurative sculptures are among his best-known works. He drew inspiration for his figures from the tribal Santhal community, whose spirit and resilience was universally admired by the Santiniketan artists

Madhava Menon was one of the first artists from Kerala to train at Shantiniketan. Firmly against modern trends in Indian art, he adhered to the oriental style he developed was a student.

Menon loved nature and usually painted delicate watercolours of flowers, animals and trees. He was also a keen birdwatcher and often painted detailed images of birds he spotted in Kerala.

Roy typically used thick, sweeping lines to create his striking and deceptively simple works.

Mythological stories, Bengali women, and rural life were the primary themes Roy focused on in his art.

Here you can see Shiva and Parvati with their respective vahanas (mounts), Nandi and the tigerish lion called Gdon, a baby Ganesha on his mother's lap.