Abanindranath Tagore
Topic: The National Movement: Gandhian Era · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 2 "Nationalism in India"
Meaning
Abanindranath Tagore (1871–1951) was a Bengali painter. He founded the Bengal school of art, which tried to create a truly Indian style of painting instead of copying Western styles. During the national movement he gave a famous face to the nation. In 1905 he painted the nation as a mother goddess called Bharat Mata ("Mother India"). Images like this helped people feel that they belonged to one nation.
Example
In 1905, during the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, he painted Bharat Mata as an ascetic woman, which means someone who gives up worldly comforts. She is calm, divine and spiritual, and she hands out learning, food and clothing. Later popular prints of Bharat Mata changed the image and added a trishul (trident), a lion and an elephant to show her power.
Don't confuse with
- Rabindranath Tagore: the poet in the same family. Rabindranath collected Bengali ballads, nursery rhymes and myths to revive folklore. Abanindranath painted Bharat Mata.
- Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: he first created the idea of Bharat Mata in words, through the song "Vande Mataram". Abanindranath later gave her a painted form.