Publisher's Synopsis
Gives a fascinating insight into India's most celebrated Nobel laureate, reflecting four major facets of his oeuvre. Accompanies an international traveling exhibition at 8 venues, featuring over 200 of his paintings; the first major show of Tagore's work since 1930 Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is one of India's best known cultural icons. He was, and still remains, one of the most influential national figures of India, whose genius has transcended boundaries. Besides being a poet, he was a novelist, a writer of short stories and plays, a composer of songs, an essayist, and a philosopher. Painting was the last art form to enter his rich creative life. This publication is produced in conjunction with the traveling exhibitions of Rabindranath Tagore's paintings, as part of India's National Commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, organized by India's Ministry of Culture. Since the whirlwind, 10-city international show that the poet-painter had undertaken in 1930, this is the first time that such a large body of Rabindranath's work is traveling internationally. In the mid-20th Century, he was the first Indian artist to be extensively exhibited in the West. The current exhibitions will travel in three parts simultaneously, to a total of eight cities across the world. The contributors to this companion publication include two of the best-known translators of his works, his biographer, and specialists in music, art and education. Along with over 200 works by Rabindranath, this unique volume brings together essays that lend insight into Rabindranath Tagore as a painter as well as locating his paintings within the larger framework of his multifaceted creative work. Contents: Rabindranath Tagore - A Biographical Sketch; Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan - Where Life and Art Meet; Rabindranath Tagore's First Ever Exhibition in Paris; Rabindranath Tagore's Paintings in German; Stella Kramrisch and the Bauhaus in Calcutta; Tagore's Sense of Rhythm; Rabindrasangeet - Rabindranath Tagore's Musical Legacy; Engagement with Modernity - Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore in the NGMA. R. Siva Kumar is an art historian and curator. He is professor of Art History at Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan. He has written extensively on modern Indian Art and is the author of more than ten books. He has edited Rabindra Chitravali, a four-volume compilation of Rabindranath's paintings and is the curator of the traveling exhibitions of paintings that mark the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. France Bhattacharya is Professor Emeritus at the Centre for the Study of India and South Asia, Paris. Uma Das Gupta is an independent scholar and formerly Research Professor in Social Sciences at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
