Characteristics of Bengal School

1. Effect of Ajanta - The soul of the Ajanta is clearly visible in the Bengal
Painting. They tried to introduce the linear delicacy, rhythm and grace
of Ajanta in their paintings to the best of their ability.

Full of Indian Traditions - This school is full of Indian traditional style of

painting, which was actually the main aim of Bengal School painters.

2. Simple and Clear Paintings - Paintings are simplified and normal. It

takes no time to understand the paintings.
3. Soft and Rhythmic Figures - The figures are delicate and graceful.
There is no hardness in them anywhere. The rhythm of the figures
gives an extraordinary pleasure to the eyes.
4. Attractive Color Scheme - The color scheme of the paintings is very
attractive. Bright and gaudy colors have not all been used anywhere.
Wash technique has been used in order to bring harmony in the
painting.
5. Impact of Mughal and Rajasthani School - The impact of Mughal
and Rajasthani School is also there in the paintings at some places.
6. Light and Shade - Light and shade has been very delicately shown,
which has added softness to the paintings and hardness is nowhere
seen in them.
In Spite of the above qualities some drawbacks remained in this style.
In the beginning the paintings were very attractive as they were painted
by the pioneers of the school. Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath
Tagore, Asit Kumar Haldar, K. Venketappa, Nand Lal Bose, Sharda
Charan Ukil, Jamini Roy were among the prominent ones. But the later
artists could not paint with that standard.
 Subject Matter of Bengal School

1. Historical Paintings - So many historical events were painted

in this style. “Tishya Rakshita” and “Buddha and Sujata” painted
by Asit Kumar Halder are also famous paintings.
2. Religious Paintings - “Mahakali”, “Shiv Parvati”, “Krishna and
Gopis” and many other events were painted under this theme.
3. Literary Themes - Themes of Indian literature were liberally
painted in this school. Meghdoot by Ram Gopal Vijayvargiya is
very famous for this theme.
4. Social Life - There is an abundance of the social and daily life
paintings in this school. “Hard - ware Merchant”, “Beggar”, “The
Last Journey” etc are worth mentioning.
5. Birds and Animals - Birds and animals have also been painted.
But the animals painted are really beautiful and expressive. In
the last journey the end of a camel has been depicted. It is a
wonderful emotional sight. The expressions on the face of a
camel are very touching.
6. Landscape Painting - Landscape paintings have been
beautifully done in this school.
 Contribution of Indian Artists in National
Freedom Struggle

1. Social, economic and intellectual environment of a society has always

been portrayed by Art and the artistic character of an artist.
2. Indian freedom movement had a great impact on the life of normal
people.
3. This influenced the Indian artist also and they too participated in the
Indian freedom struggle with full patriotism.
4. To show their patriotism they choose to make the painting on the topic
of freedom struggle with full patriotism.
5. Some national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru
also took help from the feeling of freedom struggle.
6. The art of religious importance for the common people was made to
feel inferior. Even the literate Indian youth fell prey to westernization
and preferred western culture over Indian.
7. At this time came Bengal school which played a great role as a
revivalist movement to help art in gaining a national identity and also
contributed to the freedom movement.
8. In this effort, Abanindra Nath Tagore was the first major exponent of
Indian nationalist values of Art. He was the founder of the Bengal
School as well as the “Indian Society of Oriental Art”.
 (A) Bharat Mata (Mother India) by
Abanindra Nath Tagore

1. It showed his nationalist outlook and his idea of Bharat. His

Bharat Mata was an originator of the roti-kapda-makan theme of
later India. It reflected the growing Swadeshi Movement of India.
2. He portrayed a young Bengali woman draped in Saffron from
head to toe holding objects of national aspirations in her 4 hands
like a white cloth, a book, sheaf of grain, rosary. They are
symbolic of food, shelter, clothing and education.
3. Abanindranath had visualised Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s
celebrated national poem Vandemataram to create this painting.
A rosary in her hand seems to signify that as it struggles for
liberation, the tradition of spirituality. It signifies the essence of
dharma - the cosmic law.
4. According to Sister Nivedita, an admirer of the painting wanted
to carry it from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to spread nationalist
passion among the people of the country. It was said, “The
painting is an attempt of humanisation of Bharat Mata” where the
mother is seeking liberation through her sons.

(B) Amrita Shergill’s version of Bharat Mata

1. She painted Mother India but it was a realist image, critical and very
down to earth.
2. She painted Bharat Mata as a poor peasant woman with her poor
children, a boy in her lap and her daughter by her side. The essence
of the theme is the poverty of rural India and the mood is sad caused
by the poverty of her situation.

(C) Purna Ghosh Mother India

1. Painted Bharat Mata based on a song by Dwijendra Lal Roy where
motherland is referred to as “Bharat Janani” who rises from blue seas
and has the Himalaya as her crowning glory.
2. He has painted a lady who is rising from blue water, wearing a blue
saree holding a sheaf of ripened paddy crown on the head symbolizing
Himalayas representing India as a flourishing land of agriculture.

(D) Nand Lal Bose

He painted the portraits of national leaders and Swaraj movements. To

mark the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s arrest for protesting in British
salt tax, he created black and white print of the Marching Gandhi. He
also decorated Congress Pandals. Despite shortage of finances, Nand
Lal brought the Congress Pandals to life by using local material of
bamboo, thatch, timber and reed etc. He got Benodebehari Mukherjee,
Praphat Mohan Bandopadhyay, Vinayaka Masoji and Asith Kumar
Halder to assist him in his task.
At Haripura, Nand Lal turned the area into a wonderful example of
environmental art, gates, pillars, exhibitions, cluster of stalls, thatched
shelters, landscape gardens, meeting, areas and residential tents were
all decorated with local material of bamboo, thatch and khadi and
different hues lending the session an elegant rural atmosphere.

(E) Gaganendra Nath Tagore

He made a caricature titled peace declared in the Punjab on
Jallianwala massacre declaration on peace in Punjab highlighting the
brutal act and hatred of Indians towards the British. He actively
observed politics and soon moved from the revivalist methods of
Bengal school to the caricatures that were published in many
newspapers.

(F) Asit Kumar Halder

Known best for the project of documentation cave art of Ajanta, Ellora
and Bagh, worked with the objective of bringing ancient Indian art to
the wider public. His and Nand Lal Bose’s work of creating replicas
found patrons from Europe like Lady Harringham who published their
work in Europe thus gaining recognition and admiration for ancient
Indian art in the world. Awakening of Mother India and 32 paintings of
the Buddha document. The Indian idealism in his art.
Like Nand Lal Bose and Abanindra Nath Tagore, artists like
Benodabehari Mukherjee, M.A.R. Chugtai, Bireswar Sen, Debi Prasad
Roy Choudhary painted a number of themes related to the fight for
Independence.

The Evolution of National Flag

Artist - Unknown
Medium - Coloured Cloth
Period - 1906, 1921, 1947 A.D.
Courtesy - Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Govt. of India.
Subject Matter - The aim for making the Indian National Flag was to
have a separate identity of India as the National Freedom Movement
was going on and efforts for making India free were in progress.
Different Flags were made from time to time but the final Indian
National Flag was hoisted on August 15, 1947. It was discovered or
recognised during our national struggle for freedom. The evolution of
the Indian National Flag went through many transitions to arrive at what
it is today. Some of the historical milestones involve the following :-
First National Flag - The first Indian National Flag was hoisted on
August 7, 1906 in the Parsi Bagan Square (Green Park) in Calcutta,
now Kolkata. It had three horizontal stripes of green, yellow and red
that south to unite the multitude of casts and races within the country.
In the top strip, 8 white lotuses representing the 8 provinces have been
shown. In the yellow central strip “Vande Mataram” in hindi is written
in dark blue color and in the bottom strip, a half moon in white is shown
at the left side and a white sun on the right side.
Middle - The second National Flag was made in 1921 by Pingali
Venkaiah. He handed over the flag to Gandhi Ji in Indian National
Congress Meet. there were few changes suggested by Gandhi Ji and
was used for all future occassion of Congrss but was not accepted by
ATCC officially first stripe was white in color and represented all the
country other than Hindu and Muslim. Second stripe was green in color
and are represented Muslim, third stripe was red in color and are
represent Hindu.
Final (1947) - In July 1947 a new flag of free India as a nation was
hoisted which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly. The thought
behind its modifications was to make it acceptable to all parties and
communities. The Tricolor flag’s significance remains the same. The
Dharma Chakra of Emperor Ashoka with 24 spokes was adopted
instead of the charkha. It is now a symbol of National pride which
represents hopes and aspirations of Indian people.
Symbolic significance of its forms and colors :-
Saffron - It is for courage and sacrifice. It is the common and religiously
significant color of the religions of Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain.
White - White is for truth, honesty, purity and peace of the nation. It
also represents cleanliness and knowledge. It lightens the path of truth
in order to guide the nation.
Green - Green is for faith and chivalry. It also represents the fertility,
life, happiness and prosperity of the nation. It indicates the green fields
all over India.
Navy Blue - Navy Blue color of the Ashoka Chakra in the centre of the
white strip represents the color of the sky and the oceans.
Dharma Chakra - Dharma Chakra is the wheel of cosmic law, it stands
for constant change and dynamism.
24 spokes - In the centre represent 24 precious hours of the whole
day.

Tiller of the Soil

Name - Tiller of the soil
Artist - Nand Lal Bose
Period - 1937 A.D.
Medium - Watercolor (Tempera)
Courtesy - National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
Subject Matter -
1. This is one of the panels painted by Nand Lal Bose to decorate
one of the several huts in the pandal for the Haripura Congress
Adhiveshan.
2. The theme of these decorative posters were hunters, warriors,
women at work, mother and child, carpenter, cows, bulls and
other village animals.
Description -
1. In this poster Tiller of the Soil, a farmer is shown ploughing his
field.
2. Nand Lal’s art was remarkable for its bold lines and simple color
work.
 3. Each panel has a similar compositional arrangement painted on
larged sized hand made paper.
4. In this painting a farmer is shown tilling the land with a wooden
plough driven by a pair of white bullocks.
5. Farmer is wearing a folded white dhoti and white turban on his
head. His upper part is bare.
6. He is also holding a stick in his right hand.
7. The humped bulls are energetic and well decorated with clothes
and tassels.
8. Their front hooves are raised to depict that forward movement.
9. The upturned soil is indicated by curvilinear lines on the ground.
10. The body of the bull is highlighted with bold strokes of
white.
11. The earthy colors used are brown, indigo and white against
a light ochre background, justifying the simplicity of rural life.
12. A few masterly strokes at correct places have succeeded
portraying the anatomical details of the body of animals as well
as the farmer.
13. Use of bold lines has been done and the lines are rhythmic
in nature.
14. Color Scheme - Brown color has largely been used
against the light yellowish, golden background showing the
simplicity of rural life.

Journey’s End
Name - Journey’s End
Artist - Abanindranath Tagore (Father of Modern Indian Painting)
Period - 1937
Medium - Watercolor on paper
School - Bengal School
Courtesy - The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
Subject Matter -
1. This painting shows a tired and overloaded camel on the edge of death.
2. In fact the artist is showing a reflection of human life through this piece
of artwork.
3. The pain and suffering of the animal can be seen in the half open eyes
of the animal.
4. Massive load on the back shows the greed of the master in exploiting
the slave.
Composition -
1. Background is a red, brown and yellow wash of colors and the sky is
filled with the diffused light of sunset.
2. Foreground is painted in a darker tone of the same color to intensify
the sense of pain.
3. Slight blue color is used where an animal is about to collapse.
4. There is an impression of the dessert giving a very mystical effect.
5. In this painting the artist used red, brown and a bit yellow orange color
giving the effect of sunset with wash technique.
6. It is a symbolic painting, the camel who is almost about to fall and is
gasping for his last breath in the sunset time has relevance also with
the life of the human being, no one is there to help him at that time and
blood is coming out of his mouth.
7. The weight that he has been carrying all his life for his master is still
there on his back and he is at this time also trying to save the load from
getting damaged.
8. He is hopeful of standing once more and delivering the goods to his
master. He is on his knees with his back legs upright and his head
slightly raised as if he is making another attempt to stand. He feels his
life’s journey is about to end with the end of the day.
9. Human Values - This shows the human value of the animal, in spite
of the greedy and cruel behaviour of this master, the animal still
selflessly loves him and wants to serve him with great responsibility till
the end of his life.
 Rasa - Lila

Name - Rasa - Lila

Artist - Kshitindranath Mazumdar
School - Bengal School
Period - 1926 A.D.
Medium - Watercolor (wash) tempera on paper
Courtesy - National Gallery of Modern Art New Delhi
Subject Matter - This is the painting of Kshitindranath Majumdar, showing
Rasa - Lila of Krishna with Gopis, i.e. this painting is based on the dance of
gopis in love for Krishna. Rasa - Lila means the dance of Krishna with gopis,
who are in love with Krishna. The subject matter is justified.
Description -
1. In painting the midst of these gopis the almighty son of Vasudeva
appeared to be superbly beautiful just like emerald shines in the midst
of other gems in the same way Krishna is shining in the midst of gopis.
2. The movement of the steps, hand, smile, contraction of eyebrows,
dancing hips, heavy heaving breasts, locks of hair covering their
forehead, drop of sweat and loose garments of them, singing a song
in the background of coloured lightning of dark sky.
3. This is the perfect depiction of Rasa - Lila Gopi.
4. Three trees with thick leaves can be seen in the background.
5. The plaits are shaking so as to show that they are moving.
6. They have pinned their hair with white flowers.
7. White flowers have fallen on the floor and these flowers might have
probably dropped from the trees which are above them.
8. Gopis hair is typical snake-like with a hair pin on the head.
9. It is a light coloured wash painting.
10. Lines are rhythmic and thin.

Radhika
Name - Radhika
Artist - M.A.R Chugtai
School - Modern
Medium - Watercolor tempera (wash)
Courtesy - National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
Subject Matter -
1. This painting is based on a typical Indian young girl in standing pose
going out of her room.
2. She is feeling shy. This painting belongs to Hindu religion.
Description -
1. It is a vertical painting of M.A.R Chugtai.
2. Radhika is shown as delicate and full of love, flexibility and grace.
3. Her posture is romantic. Her head is down.
4. Her left foot is forward and toe is shown nicely while the right foot is
shown with three fingers of the foot.
5. Her left hand and right hand are holding the lotus flowers. The left hand
is bent normally near her neck while the right hand is folded in a typical
pose.
6. There is an ant or a honey bee with wings sitting on the flower in her
right hand.
7. The ant has wings, maybe an insect.
8. In the background, there is a lamp stand with a burning flame in yellow
and red color and smoke is going upwards.
9. Near the lamp, some insects are shown dead on the ground.
10. The lady is wearing a blue coloured lehenga, a red blouse and a
yellow orange saree with both of them.
11. Ornaments are shown with well decorative lines.
12. Lines are thin and sharp with full expression. The whole painting
is giving a very good impression due to its rhythmic, expressive nature.
13. Her hair is also painted with grey, black and brown color and is
flowing down her neck.
14. Background is shown with a centrally yellow color and gradually
outside orange and brown at the bottom and top also.
 15. Due to the brightness of the lamp each fold of her clothes can be
clearly seen.
16. This painting is a wash technique.

Meghdoot
Name - Meghdoot
Artist - Ram Gopal Vijayvargiya
School - Bengal School
Medium - Watercolor tempera (wash)
Period - 1961 - 66
Courtesy - Lalit Kala Academy New Delhi
Subject Matter -
1. This painting is based on a lyrical poem “Meghdoot” written by Kalidas.
2. It is the imagination of an artist.
3. Meghdoot is a story of a yaksha who lives in the beautiful mythical city
of Alaka in the Himalayas.
4. It shows perfect harmony of colors.
5. Two lovers Yaksha - Yakshini sitting on a white cloud and flying high
above in the sky.
6. He was exiled by his master king Kubera for one year for neglecting
his duties.
Description -
1. The artwork and rhythmic and curly colourful lines with lovers impress
the viewers.
2. The body structure of Yaksha is strong and straight and the Yakshini
is curvaceous and is attractively painted.
3. Here the handsome Yaksha is sitting on rocks in a forest and writing
his feelings. He is writing on a leaf with right hand and holding a flower
in his left hand.
4. He is wearing a yellow dhoti and a long stole hangs on his left shoulder.
5. He is wearing a necklace and earrings of pearls and has curly hair. His
hair is long curled upward at the ends.
6. The feeling of love can be seen on their face and this is enhanced by
striking Doe eyes and smile on the lips.
7. The sky is in dark and light shades of blue, clouds are white, grey and
violet.
8. In the background, there is a thatched hut and thick forest trees in
green and yellow colors.
9. The hut, trees and rocky terrain are painted in light and dark brown
color. Two wave-like clouds are swirling into the composition from back
and front towards the Yaksha.
10. A few small birds are also flying amongst the clouds.