Captive Sita

Abanindranath Thakur

Charcoal sketch

Paritosh Sen

Sketch by :

Atul Basu

Calcutta grew as a centre of British interests and after 1773, as the capital of British India. Many European painters visited the city and a few even settled here. In the 1880’s and 1890’s, Rabindranath Thakur (Tagore) carried out some work formally related to North Indian traditions of art. A new movement began in 1896, Ernest Binfield Havell joined as principal of the Government Art School, founded in 1864. In 1897, the students of Government Art School lodged a formal protest, because the art techniques and patterns are western based. Soon after Ranadaprasad Gupta established the Jubilee Art Academy – which lasted till his death in 1927. In 1889, local British residents – mostly high government officials – formed the Calcutta Art Society; later, it also inducted members from the landed gentry of Bengal. Bengali artists and professionals inaugurated the Indian Association for the promotion of Fine Arts and National Gallery in 1892. As this is the story of Art in Calcutta, Rabindranath’s paintings must receive less than their artistic due. He took to painting around 1928, in his late sixties, Jamini Ray is also one of the unforgettable name in the economic art history of Calcutta.

All in all, there is much activity, Much production and much thoughts. The search for a complete new idioms will no doubt be fulfilled one day.