Untitled (Shadow by River)

Abanindranath Tagore, a pioneering twentieth-century Indian artist and an active proponent of revivalist art, was the founder of what came to be known as the Bengal School. Trained in the European realist style, his practice evolved to assimilate Ajanta frescos, Kalighat pats, Mughal, Japanese and Persian elements. The exploration of mood is a recurrent theme in Abanindranath Tagore’s art. Very often, it is the beauty of nature that pre-dominates the landscapes done by the artist, becoming the central subject in several of his paintings. There are times when the viewer can register a very subtle, low-key presence of human activity—in the form of a small fire in the clearing, boats floating by, a temple in the distant background or shadows on the still surface of the water. Humans are largely figured by implying their absence in the visible landscape.