National Gallery of Modern Art-Parikraman

Nandalal Bose

A Sketch from Album No. 88 9267 Nandalal Bose Pen & Ink on postcard

This perceptible representation of a flowering plant is executed with stylised lines with pen and ink and brings out the true form of the plant. Nandalal is known to have fervently sketched on postcard sized papers mostly using ink and brush, recording his surroundings. His small sketches vastly vary in detailing, some drawn quickly with just a few lines, others executed with more elaborate characteristics from an analytical perspective. His search for newer forms of expression and his inner urge to constantly innovate is well reflected in the multiple postcards in the collection of the museum which portray the artist's visual experiences of flora fauna, the people, their attires, life in rural villages, the landscapes. His smaller sketches are testimony of Nandalal's keenness to observe and his empathy for the environment in which he lived. 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."