National Gallery of Modern Art-Parikraman

Nandalal Bose

A Sketch from Album No. 63 8657 Nandalal Bose Pencil on postcard

Nandalal Bose was indefatigable in his sketching routines which formed an adjunct part of his daily life. Making instantaneous visual records of anything amusing happening in his surroundings or of social events, or observing the demeanour and mannerisms of people, the cattle and observing intently the ways of nature was inspiring and a source of delight for Nandalal. His smaller sketches are testimony of Nandalal's keenness to observe and his empathy for the environment in which he lived. In the above sketch, Nandalal makes a visual record of his journey through the countryside, in a few randomly executed sketches in a storyboard fashion on a single page. These sketches are executed with pencil records the continuous changing landscape depicting the trees, fields and the bullock-cart, with a constant element being the road. Jaya Appaswamy in her article, 'Nandalal Bose- Master Draughtsman' writes- "The drawings on postcards have a spontaneity and brevity not seen in more formal works. They exist as evidence of the artist's unceasing desire to master visual data."