Untitled (Preparatory Drawing of Mahishasuramardini)

National Art Treasure (non-exportable work)

Nandalal Bose was based in Santiniketan by the time this preparatory drawing was made, complete with markings for colours to be used in the finalised painting. One of the greatest exponents of the Bengal School, which he renounced in favour of the expressionistic style in his later career, he was often called on to make paintings with mythological themes, including Durga—here represented as the ten-armed warring goddess. Her movement and energy are amplified with decorative curlicues billowing in all directions, in addition to abstract lines behind her that suggest the continuous trajectory of motion by which the goddess has swept down. The dramatic drawing is distinct in spirit and style from Bose’s early historical and mythological paintings that foregrounded fortitude rather than retribution, the latter giving it nationalist legitimacy.