The Bengal School of Art: Abanindranath Tagore and the Swadeshi Movement

In the early 20th century, as Bengal bristled with nationalist fervor, a quiet revolution was unfolding in a Calcutta art studio. Abanindranath Tagore, nephew of Rabindranath, rejected the Western academic style that had dominated Indian painting under the British Raj. Inspired by Mughal miniatures, Japanese wash techniques, and Ajanta cave murals, he pioneered the Bengal School of Art. This episode explores how Abanindranath's iconic painting 'Bharat Mata' (1905) — depicting a saffron-clad woman holding a book, sheaves of rice, a rosary, and a white cloth — became a visual symbol of the Swadeshi movement. We discuss his mentorship of artists like Nandalal Bose, his break from the British-run Government College of Art, and the controversy with British critic Percy Brown. We also touch on the school's later decline and its legacy in independent India's art institutions. #BengalSchool #AbanindranathTagore #BharatMata #Swadeshi #IndianArt #NandalalBose #BengalRenaissance #Calcutta #MughalMiniature #JapaneseWash #AjantaCaves #RabindranathTagore #EBBHavell #GovernmentCollegeofArt #PercyBrown #History #FexingoHistory #SouthAsianHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo