Gaganendranath Tagore

In 1907, Gaganendranath Tagore together with his brother Abanindranath Tagore founded the Indian Society of Oriental Art, which became the harbinger of an indigenous modernism in Indian art in the early twentieth century. It aimed to cultivate a new movement that took hybrid inspirations from the traditions of Indian painting, [in particular the Buddhist art of the Ajanta and Bagh caves] and Japanese colour woodblock printing. The Society's exhibitions were popular among domestic and international visitors alike, and their mission attracted the support of the then Governor of Bengal, His Excellency Lord Ronaldshay.

Gaganendranath was influenced by Far Eastern art styles, especially Japanese ink-wash techniques. Assimilating this brushwork in his oeuvre, Gaganendranath achieved very delicate and graceful landscapes that embody tranquility. In the current lot, the monochromatic palette shows a cloud-filled mountainscape, the artist skillfully varying the intensity of his brush to create both depth and movement in this fluid composition. A majestic mountain range serves as the background to a set of trees and a telephone pole, its wires protruding like veins across the paper. Birds find refuge, two resting near one another, and the scene slowly fades in colour as it nears the bottom edge of the work.

Another important element of the work is the artist's stamp, the image of the Buddha's footprint, Buddhapada. This symbolic representation recalls the veneration of the feet of gurus and deities in Indian tradition, and demonstrates the footprints that Buddha left on the earth.