Osian's Auction Catalogue Creative India Series 1 Bengal | December 2011

ABAninDrAnATh TAGore Lots 26 – 30 “In his use of the line Abanindranath followed the Moghul tradition in the main. Although there was a strong spiritual bond between Abanindranath and his first batch of disciples, their works offered little kindred points with the work of the master. That is due mainly to Abanindranath’s method of training. He was firmly of the view that an artist cannot be taught, that he must depend on his own vision and experience to be able to create art. As master, Abanindranath considered it enough if he could provide his disciples scope and opportunity and an atmosphere congenial to art- creation. He was not one to hand down to them style and technique in the manner approved by academics. In the same way as he never held fast to any given style or technique, he advised his disciples to feel free to follow their own light, their own way. Owing to this liberal method of training of his, it became possible for the art movement of India to assume the character of a renaissance. Here again, it must be remembered, Abanindranath contributed more towards a revival of national art-consciousness than any revival of what is known as Indian style of painting.” [Mukherjee, Benode Behari [Text] [1988]. Abanindranath Tagore. New Delhi: National Gallery of Modern Art; p.42]