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Journalism of Courage
Bharat Mata, 1905,
Abanindranath Tagore, Rabindra Bharati Society
Bharat Mata emerged out of Abanindranath Tagore’s (1871-1951) search for a nationalist icon in modern art. Moving away from the sensual oil rendering of the female figures of Ravi Varma, Tagore cast his woman as an allegory of the nation: A de-sexualised ethereal image of woman asectic that had already become part of popular imagination because of 19th century writers like Shri Aurobindo and Bankimchandra Chatterjee. Deeply influenced by E B Havell, Tagore used a combination of techniques from miniature traditions, Chinese and Japanese ink paintings to Art Nouveau styles to forge this pathbreaking modern yet distinctly Indian form.
