National Gallery of Modern Art-Parikraman

Nandalal Bose

A Sketch from Album No. 87 9222 Nandalal Bose Watercolour on postcard

Nandalal adept in the Chinese and Japanese brush techniques has in this monochromatic painting portrayed a recognisable renderation of two women sitting together. This humble recording of everyday chores of common folks evokes the sense of camaraderie shared between the two women huddled together. The sketch is executed with the tonal variations of the colour black and the fluid handling of the line in the far Eastern calligraphic style. Nandalal's smaller sketches are testimony of his keen sense of observation and his empathy for the environment in which he lived. Nandalal had a strong affinity for sketching, his subjects being the surrounding environs, people in their everyday life or anything that he found fascinating. His firm belief that for the creation of art an intimate understanding of the nature and its ways is imperative. The range of Nandalal's artistic expression can be seen in the changing Indian landscapes, his varied images of nature and the portrayal of people and places.Dinkar Kowshik in his article 'Drawings and Sketches of Nandalal in the book, "Nandalal Bose - A collection of Essays" has written of Nandalal's sketches and drawings - "Much of his (Nandalal) strength and sensitive wealth finds expression in the spontaneity of his sketches. They are a veritable treasure of shrewd observation, powerful calligraphy, psychological insight, rich sallies of humour and emphatic portrayal of the flora and fauna."