The works of Rabindranath Tagore have an indisputable place in Bangla iterature. There is perhaps no end of delving in his works for artists, authors and fans alike. But what is even more enticing for many is taking a deeper look into the riveting life that the poet lived. Tagore fans are given an opportunity to take a deeper look in his life, as 40 renowned and contemporary Bangladeshi artists have produced 80 artworks depicting different moments and facets of Tagore’s life, which are currently being displayed at ongoing art exhibition at National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. These artworks, however, are not the only attraction of the art show. The exhibition is displaying replicas of 45 paintings done by Tagore himself.
One of Tagore’s paintings is a mixed media work titled Landscape, which depicts the serenity of a crop field in the forest. In another painting titled Figure in Darkness, Tagore creates a mysterious ambience with water-colour that depicts a female silhouette, which is partly visible in the dark milieu. His dexterity in using colours is evident in the painting Portrait of A Lady, in which, Tagore captured a female figure in a dance posture. A dancing girl also happens to be the subject of Tagore’s another artwork, done in pen and ink.
‘The replicas of Tagore’s paintings were created by the Indian government and gifted to Shilpakala by the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in Dhaka,’ said Pratyut Kumar Das, an art instructor of BSA.
The contemporary artists, on the other hand have captured the characters from Tagore’s literary work and moments from the poet’s life in their paintings, done in different mediums.
Artist Hamiduzzaman has depicted a bajra (a kind of large passenger boat), floating on a vast river on a full moon night in his acrylic painting. The silvery moon light falling on the dark river water creates a mysterious atmosphere and also reminds the visitors that the poet was very much fascinated with riding bajras from one place to another.
Qayyum Chowdhury’s colourful artwork depicts the prominent figure of Rabindranath Tagore against a backdrop of blue sky with birds, green fields and boats floating on a river.
Rafiqun Nabi’s artwork, on the other hand, captures the poet in contemplation during writing. Tagore is seen, sitting on his armchair and scribbling with a pen on paper in the painting. Birds, trees, butterfly and human beings can also be seen in bubbles drawn right above Tagore’s head revealing the poet’s chain of thought.
Rabindranath Tagore’s sharp eyes that were keenly observant have been captured in Oprotiroddho Chokh, an acrylic painting by Swarnali Mitra Rini. The artist has successfully given a kind of hypnotic quality to the eyes of the poet in the portrait.
The academy organised the exhibition to mark the poet’s 153rd birth anniversary that fell on May 8.
Began on May 8, the exhibition will remain open to public from 11:00am to 8:00pm till May 22.
-With New Age input
