The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Ministry of Culture, New Delhi in collaboration with Salar Jung Museum, is presenting an exhibition titled the 'The Last Harvest'.
Commissioned to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the 'Last Harvest' was inaugurated by noted artist and art historian, Padmasree Jagadish Mittal, along with Prof Rajeev Lochan, director of NGMA, and Prof Shiv Kumar from the Dept of Fine Arts at Shantiniketan.
The collection includes paintings by Tagore picked out from various displays across Rabindra Bhavan, Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati Santiniketan and NGMA.
The display of paintings are grouped into four categories: group one contain his earlier paintings, group two contain his depiction of nature and his deep companionship with it, group three contains his dramatic narrative potential while group four consists of human faces from which he tries to trace one’s social and personal life.
While some depict haunting images of heads, others play on the patrons understanding of the emotions that Tagore tries to show – an aggressive frown, a side profile of woman, the animalistic trait in humans and so on.
Traditions also feature prominently with Tagore depicting Japanese and Chinese women carrying out day-to-day activities. Tagore’s love for nature also becomes obvious with landscapes dotting the display, interspersed with dancing figurines and animals.
Every artist’s work is indirectly inspired by their life and Tagore’s personal experiences show up in his work. The artist’s doodles were also put up; his stylistic scribbling was actually the first draft for most of his final products.
Though one can’t go home with a canvas in tow, special publications about the artist and his life are on sale
The exhibition will remain open till June 10.