National Gallery of Modern Art-Parikraman

Nandalal Bose

A Sketch from Album No. 88 9264 Nandalal Bose Pen and ink and pencil on postcard

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. This particular sketch is an earnest representation of the flowering plant Hollyhock executed with fluid lines. Eminent artist A. Ramachandran in the book, 'Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose' has made the following observation about Nandalal's drawings and sketches - "He made quick graphic impressions, often simplifying them to just few lines as he sought to understand the inherent structure of what he was seeing. At times he recorded objects in a more analytical way, while at others he transformed them into visual codes of pattern."