National Gallery of Modern Art-Parikraman

Nandalal Bose

A Sketch from Album No. 63 8645 Nandalal Bose Watercolour on postcard

Nandalal Bose persistently undertook the study of the brushwork practiced by the artists from Eastern and the Western world. His rendezvous with international artists visiting Santiniketan and his own visits to other countries provided opportunities to understand the subtle nuances of each craft and the bold platform to enrich his vision and innovate at the same time. In the above postcard, Nandalal renders a figure of a mother attending to her child in an impressionistic fashion. The use of broken strokes to delineate the female form captures the visual impression of this tender moment. R. Siva Kumar in the book, 'Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose' has written, "Nandalal's drawing take through different landscapes and introduce us to life in different cultures- not cosmetically, but intimately. Done on small cards, these drawings are a visual record of the artist's sensory experiences, and they capture the varying moods and gestures with remarkable ease and economy."