Bengal School of Art
The Bengal School of Art, commonly referred as Bengal School,[1] was an art movement and a style of Indian painting that originated in Bengal, primarily Kolkata and Shantiniketan, and flourished throughout the Indian subcontinent, during the British Raj in the early 20th century. Also known as 'Indian style of painting' in its early days, it was associated with Indian nationalism (swadeshi) and led by Abanindranath Tagore (1871–1951), and was also being promoted and supported by British arts administrators like E. B. Havell, the principal of the Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata from 1896; eventually it led to the development of the modern Indian painting.[1][2][3]
Legacy[edit]
The Bengal School of Art, which emerged in the first half of the twentieth century, has produced a significant legacy in the world of Indian art.[7] Its deep impact on the cultural landscape of India and its role in shaping the trajectory of modern Indian art cannot be overstated. Led by eminent artists such as Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, and Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengal School emerged as a powerful movement that sought to revive traditional Indian artistic practices and forge a unique national identity. However, it is important to note that "while a special kind of nationalist sentiment is present in the paintings of Abanindranath and in the ideas of Rabindranath, there was always an aversion to direct political confrontation at the core of those sentiments".[7] Artists of this style include Amit Sarkar, Ajoy Ghosh, Sankarlal Aich, Amal Chaklader, Narendra Chandra De Sarkar, Sukti Subhra Pradhan, and Ratan Acharya. Some of the best known artists of present-day Bengal are Jogen Chowdhury, Mrinal Kanti Das, Gopal Sanyal, Ganesh Pyne, Manishi Dey, Shanu Lahiri, Ganesh Haloi[8] Jahar Dasgupta, Samir Aich, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Manindra Bhushan Gupta, Sudip Roy, Ramananda Bandopadhyay and Devajyoti Ray.