86/1, College Street rd, Calcutta University, College Square, Kolkata, West Bengal 700073, India
In 1905, Bose enrolled at Presidency College (present-day Presidency University), where he studied commerce.
Santiniketan, West Bengal 731235, India
In 1922, Bose was appointed a principal of Kala Bhavan in Shantiniketan.
1956
Rabindra Bhavan, 35, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi-110001, India
In 1956, Bose became a member of Lalit Kala Akademi.
86/1, College Street rd, Calcutta University, College Square, Kolkata, West Bengal 700073, India
In 1905, Bose enrolled at Presidency College (present-day Presidency University), where he studied commerce.
Padma Vibhushan Award
Rabindra Bhavan, 35, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi-110001, India
In 1956, Bose became a member of Lalit Kala Akademi.
Santiniketan, West Bengal 731235, India
In 1922, Bose was appointed a principal of Kala Bhavan in Shantiniketan.
Bose's mentor, Rabindranath Tagore - artist, musician and poet
Nandalal Bose was born on December 3, 1882 in Banipur, Sankrail, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Munger, Bihar, India). He was a son of Purnachandra Bose and Kshetramoni Devi, an orthodox woman with great beliefs in God and rituals. Nandalal was the third amongst five children.
In childhood, Bose became interested in modeling images and it was at that time, when he started to produce images of Durga, Ganesh, elephants and bulls, that were exhibited in fairs and festivals. Nandalal had a great passion for colored pictures and he searched for them in his old books and magazines during his formal education. Instead of taking down notes in school, he made sketches.
In 1897, the painter left for Calcutta, where he entered Central Collegiate School. There, he befriended Kantichandra Ghosh, who later became a famous translator of Omar Khayyam. After clearing his examinations in 1902, he continued his college studies at the same institution. Some time later, in 1905, Bose enrolled at Presidency College (present-day Presidency University), where he studied commerce. However, he was still unable to concentrate on his studies due to his constant passion for drawing and painting.
Also, in 1957, Bose received honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Calcutta.
Early in his career, Bose was influenced by the murals of the Ajanta Caves. He also drew inspiration from Rabindranath Tagore as well, who in turn was highly impressed by Nandalal's works. As such, Nandalal sketched many of Tagore's works, like "Chayanika", "Crescent Moon", "Gitanjali" and "Fruit Gathering".
In 1922, Bose was appointed a principal of Kala Bhavan in Shantiniketan. It was in Shantiniketan, that Nandalal first met Mahatma Gandhi. When Gandhi marched to protest the Salt tax in the historic Dandi march, Bose created a famous black and white work, that depicted Gandhi walking with a staff.
Bose traveled to China, Japan, Malaya and Burma in 1924. Ten yeas later, in 1934, together with Rabindranath Tagore, he visited Ceylon. Also, the painter was commissioned by Jawaharlal Nehru to sketch the emblems for the Government of India's awards, including the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Shri.
Nandalal Bose became famous as a pioneer of modern Indian art and a key figure of Contextual Modernism. Today, his paintings are considered to be among India's most important modern paintings. He was the second artist to be elected a fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi (India's National Academy of Art) in 1956. Also, Nandalal was the first recipient of a scholarship, awarded by the Indian society of Oriental Art.
The painter received several awards, including Padma Vibhushan Award (1954) and Tagore Birth Cenetary Medal (1965).
His works are kept in the collection of National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi.
Bose was a member of an international circle of artists and writers, seeking to revive classical Indian culture.
Bose was a unique genius with unaffected modesty and gentle humor.
In 1903, Nandalal Bose married a 12-year old young girl, Sudhira Devi. Approximately in 1907-1908, their daughter Gauri was born.
