DOI issue:
No. 389 (August 1925)
DOI article:[Studio-talk]
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21403#0138
CALCUTTA—ROME
CALCUTTA.—The sixteenth exhibi-
tion of the Indian Society of Oriental
Art helps one to mark the stages in the
movements in modern Indian painting.
The works of the exponents of modern
Indian art cover a wide range, in which
all shades of opinion figure, from the old
traditional manner to the latest imitation
of ultra-cubistic formulae. The principal
representatives are guided by a liberal
eclecticism in which novel forms of
experiments take the place of the tradi-
tional style of the Buddhist fresco, the
Moghul miniatures or the lyrical compo-
sitions of Kangra. A few years ago the
artists were much less confident about
their powers, and somewhat nervously
clung to the manners of one or other of
the old schools which happened to be
the favourite of one or other group of
artists. With success has come greater
confidence, and they have now fairly
outgrown the influences of the old Indian
masters. They are now building up a
language of their own without borrowing
the vocabulary of any of the old masters.
At the same time they are true to the basic
principles of Indian painting. The Gar-
dener's Daughter, one of the works of a
young artist which attracted much atten-
tion at the last exhibition, has all the
associated atmosphere of an Indian picture,
but is wholly unrelated to any of the
manners of the old Indian schools. Simi-
larly Surendra Kar's Hiramon pictures the
toilette of an Indian queen with her
favourite bird, in the very romantic atmo-
sphere of the "Kathasarit-sagara" without
actually borrowing any formula from the
traditional methods. The success for the
time being of these individual efforts
may net be very astounding, but they
help to place Indian painting on the road
to new developments which are not mere
repetitions of old successes. " Absorb
your old masters, but shelve them for
the present, and let us see what you can
yourself attain." This is the advice of
Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore, the leader
of the movement. He himself has been
experimenting all his life. His latest
move is an interesting study in technique.
Water-colour on cloth, he has been able
to demonstrate, offers new qualities in
breadth and simplicity. O. C. G.
132
ROME.—One of the most remarkable
figures among Italian sculptors of
to-day is undoubtedly Professor Amleto
Cataldi, whose works are already well
known and appreciated, both in his native
country and abroad. The son of a dis-
tinguished sculptor in wood, he inherited
his father's talent, attaining in some of
his statues to that perfection which only
genius can inspire, a 0 0 0
What most impresses me is his
extraordinary versatility in style and tech-
nique, and his evident effort to always
" go one better " on himself, which, after
all, should be the constant aim and
endeavour of every true artist. When I
first knew him, at the beginning of his
career, he had not yet entirely disen-
tangled himself from the wiles and allure-
ments of academic conventionalities, and
" THE GARDENER'S DAUGHTER
BY NOBENDRA TAGORE
(Indian Society of Oriental Art)
CALCUTTA.—The sixteenth exhibi-
tion of the Indian Society of Oriental
Art helps one to mark the stages in the
movements in modern Indian painting.
The works of the exponents of modern
Indian art cover a wide range, in which
all shades of opinion figure, from the old
traditional manner to the latest imitation
of ultra-cubistic formulae. The principal
representatives are guided by a liberal
eclecticism in which novel forms of
experiments take the place of the tradi-
tional style of the Buddhist fresco, the
Moghul miniatures or the lyrical compo-
sitions of Kangra. A few years ago the
artists were much less confident about
their powers, and somewhat nervously
clung to the manners of one or other of
the old schools which happened to be
the favourite of one or other group of
artists. With success has come greater
confidence, and they have now fairly
outgrown the influences of the old Indian
masters. They are now building up a
language of their own without borrowing
the vocabulary of any of the old masters.
At the same time they are true to the basic
principles of Indian painting. The Gar-
dener's Daughter, one of the works of a
young artist which attracted much atten-
tion at the last exhibition, has all the
associated atmosphere of an Indian picture,
but is wholly unrelated to any of the
manners of the old Indian schools. Simi-
larly Surendra Kar's Hiramon pictures the
toilette of an Indian queen with her
favourite bird, in the very romantic atmo-
sphere of the "Kathasarit-sagara" without
actually borrowing any formula from the
traditional methods. The success for the
time being of these individual efforts
may net be very astounding, but they
help to place Indian painting on the road
to new developments which are not mere
repetitions of old successes. " Absorb
your old masters, but shelve them for
the present, and let us see what you can
yourself attain." This is the advice of
Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore, the leader
of the movement. He himself has been
experimenting all his life. His latest
move is an interesting study in technique.
Water-colour on cloth, he has been able
to demonstrate, offers new qualities in
breadth and simplicity. O. C. G.
132
ROME.—One of the most remarkable
figures among Italian sculptors of
to-day is undoubtedly Professor Amleto
Cataldi, whose works are already well
known and appreciated, both in his native
country and abroad. The son of a dis-
tinguished sculptor in wood, he inherited
his father's talent, attaining in some of
his statues to that perfection which only
genius can inspire, a 0 0 0
What most impresses me is his
extraordinary versatility in style and tech-
nique, and his evident effort to always
" go one better " on himself, which, after
all, should be the constant aim and
endeavour of every true artist. When I
first knew him, at the beginning of his
career, he had not yet entirely disen-
tangled himself from the wiles and allure-
ments of academic conventionalities, and
" THE GARDENER'S DAUGHTER
BY NOBENDRA TAGORE
(Indian Society of Oriental Art)