National Gallery of Modern Art-Parikraman

Nandalal Bose

A Sketch from Album No. 79 9006 Nandalal Bose Pen and ink and pencil on postcard

Nandalal had a strong affinity for sketching; his subjects being from the surrounding environs, people in their everyday life or anything that he found fascinating. The artist in this pen and ink drawing has represented an old man playing drums, beat instruments often used by wandering minstrels who would preach religious scriptures and divinity through music and folk songs. Nandalal has in his individualistic style emphasized on the line drawings with their solidity of structure for rendering the drawing of the bearded man. The folds of the drapes, his coiffure, ornaments, the conical turban and the facial expressions are keenly observed by the artist. The fluid handling of the line and their strong delineation was the influence of the Far Eastern art practices. Nandalal understood the significance of the use of lines and experimented frequently in their execution from fine lines to being thick contouring lines and executed in a calligraphic fashion.