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Lot Essay
Abanindranath Tagore, a founding member of the Bengal School of Art and a widely respected artist and teacher, began his artistic journey with his first illustrations, published in Sadhana magazine in 1891, which arguably marked the dawn of modern art in India. Initially associated with nationalist revivalism, he rejected Western techniques in favour of traditional Indian forms. Through his engagement with figures including E.B. Havell, Sister Nivedita, and his uncle Rabindranath Tagore, his work developed a broader dialogue with global influences, particularly East Asian art and symbolism, positioning him as a true modernist.
Tagore explored several genres as an artist, but it was portraiture that seemed to hold his interest for the longest period. “Abanindranath’s interest in portraiture was chronologically second to his interest in landscape. But his interest in portraiture was more enduring; it ran through his entire career, unabated and constantly evolving” (R. Siva Kumar, Paintings of Abanindranath Tagore, Kolkata, 2008, p. 187). An important component of this body of work were a couple of significant portraits that Tagore painted in the early 1920s of M.K. Gandhi, who by then was at the forefront of India’s movement for independence from British colonial rule.
“The single portrait of Gandhiji and the portrait group depicting Andrews and Rabindranath along with the leader of the movement for India’s independence, must have been painted one after the other to mark the historic occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s meeting with Rabindranath at Jorasanko (Tagore’s Calcutta residence) to enlist his support for the ‘non-cooperation movement’ started by him in 1921. This momentous meeting had been brough about by their common friend Charles Andrews, the saintly Christian priest who had been Gandhiji’s collaborator since his South African days. Ideologically, Rabindranath had his reservations in subscribing to such a political philosophy which had included the routine of spinning on the charkha (wheel)” (R.Parimoo, Art of Three Tagores, From Revival to Modernity, New Delhi, 2011, p. 222).
Tagore portrays Gandhiji seated on the floor, supporting his weight on one hand, while the other holds one of his knees up close to his body. He is gaunt and wears all white, including a kurta, dhoti and what is now referred to as a Gandhi cap. In the present lot, the second of these two works, “The bony features are made strikingly conspicuous, by sunken cheeks, protruding angular shoulders, hands with elongated fingers [...] while even the toes are long and thin. It was Gandhiji’s daily habit to spin ‘thread-making’ on the takli (spindle) from khadi cotton. Each days’ ‘thread-making’ was wound up into a circular garland (i.e. anti) which he conspicuously holds in his left hand, as his hallmark. Abanindranath brings out Gandhiji’s humbleness through his posture and the fact that he was a deep thinker through his intense eyes” (R.Parimoo, Art of Three Tagores, From Revival to Modernity, New Delhi, 2011, p. 222).
This ‘single portrait’ likely refers to the two years that Gandhiji spent in Yervada prison, Pune, after he was tried and convicted on charges of sedition in March 1922. Although he had called an end to the non-cooperation movement by then, he continued to prioritise spinning his own thread as a way to unite the people of India, fasting until the jail authorities relented and granted him the use of a takli and charkha in his cell. Likely one of the first of many artistic portrayals of Gandhiji spinning, this work by Tagore has been titled The Spinner of a Nation’s Destiny, emphasising the importance of both the subject and his act in the history of the Indian independence movement.
As this movement gained ground under Gandhiji’s leadership and faced new and greater opposition, the New York Times published an article on 5 October 1924 titled ‘New Group Challenges Gandhi As He Fasts’. To illustrate the piece, they chose a detail of this poignant portrait of the Mahatma, underling the righteous and spiritual nature of the struggle of a man “revered by one-fifth of the human race”. The author, Savel Zimand, wrote, “I saw Gandhi at the time when the order for his release from prison had just arrived. Face to face with the frail man, I wondered if this was the same Gandhi whom millions followed, and who march at the sound of his voice. Could this little man lead the fight against a powerful Government? There was no mistake about it after I looked at him a little longer and talked to him a bit more. He could hold his own with any statesman, lawyer or journalist. He is little and he is frail, but his soul is big and his heart is strong” (S. Zimand, ‘New Group Challenges Gandhi As He Fasts’, New York Times, 5 October 1924, p. 5).
Tagore explored several genres as an artist, but it was portraiture that seemed to hold his interest for the longest period. “Abanindranath’s interest in portraiture was chronologically second to his interest in landscape. But his interest in portraiture was more enduring; it ran through his entire career, unabated and constantly evolving” (R. Siva Kumar, Paintings of Abanindranath Tagore, Kolkata, 2008, p. 187). An important component of this body of work were a couple of significant portraits that Tagore painted in the early 1920s of M.K. Gandhi, who by then was at the forefront of India’s movement for independence from British colonial rule.
“The single portrait of Gandhiji and the portrait group depicting Andrews and Rabindranath along with the leader of the movement for India’s independence, must have been painted one after the other to mark the historic occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s meeting with Rabindranath at Jorasanko (Tagore’s Calcutta residence) to enlist his support for the ‘non-cooperation movement’ started by him in 1921. This momentous meeting had been brough about by their common friend Charles Andrews, the saintly Christian priest who had been Gandhiji’s collaborator since his South African days. Ideologically, Rabindranath had his reservations in subscribing to such a political philosophy which had included the routine of spinning on the charkha (wheel)” (R.Parimoo, Art of Three Tagores, From Revival to Modernity, New Delhi, 2011, p. 222).
Tagore portrays Gandhiji seated on the floor, supporting his weight on one hand, while the other holds one of his knees up close to his body. He is gaunt and wears all white, including a kurta, dhoti and what is now referred to as a Gandhi cap. In the present lot, the second of these two works, “The bony features are made strikingly conspicuous, by sunken cheeks, protruding angular shoulders, hands with elongated fingers [...] while even the toes are long and thin. It was Gandhiji’s daily habit to spin ‘thread-making’ on the takli (spindle) from khadi cotton. Each days’ ‘thread-making’ was wound up into a circular garland (i.e. anti) which he conspicuously holds in his left hand, as his hallmark. Abanindranath brings out Gandhiji’s humbleness through his posture and the fact that he was a deep thinker through his intense eyes” (R.Parimoo, Art of Three Tagores, From Revival to Modernity, New Delhi, 2011, p. 222).
This ‘single portrait’ likely refers to the two years that Gandhiji spent in Yervada prison, Pune, after he was tried and convicted on charges of sedition in March 1922. Although he had called an end to the non-cooperation movement by then, he continued to prioritise spinning his own thread as a way to unite the people of India, fasting until the jail authorities relented and granted him the use of a takli and charkha in his cell. Likely one of the first of many artistic portrayals of Gandhiji spinning, this work by Tagore has been titled The Spinner of a Nation’s Destiny, emphasising the importance of both the subject and his act in the history of the Indian independence movement.
As this movement gained ground under Gandhiji’s leadership and faced new and greater opposition, the New York Times published an article on 5 October 1924 titled ‘New Group Challenges Gandhi As He Fasts’. To illustrate the piece, they chose a detail of this poignant portrait of the Mahatma, underling the righteous and spiritual nature of the struggle of a man “revered by one-fifth of the human race”. The author, Savel Zimand, wrote, “I saw Gandhi at the time when the order for his release from prison had just arrived. Face to face with the frail man, I wondered if this was the same Gandhi whom millions followed, and who march at the sound of his voice. Could this little man lead the fight against a powerful Government? There was no mistake about it after I looked at him a little longer and talked to him a bit more. He could hold his own with any statesman, lawyer or journalist. He is little and he is frail, but his soul is big and his heart is strong” (S. Zimand, ‘New Group Challenges Gandhi As He Fasts’, New York Times, 5 October 1924, p. 5).