Lot 28: Andharer Gaye Gaye Porosh Taba...

GAGANENDRANATH TAGORE (1867-1938) Andharer Gaye Gaye Porosh Taba... titled in Bengali (lower left), inscribed 'impression', signed and inscribed in Bengali and dated '26th February 19..' (lower right) watercolour on paper laid on paper 3 5/8 x 6 5/8 in. (9.2 x 16.8 cm.) image; 5 5/8 x 6¾ in. (14.3 x 17.1 cm.) sheet Executed after 1915

9.2 x 16.8 cm.

New Delhi, Delhi Art Gallery, Manifestations XI, 75 Artists, August 2014

Manifestations XI, 75 Artists, exhibition catalogue, New Delhi, 2014, p. 85 (illustrated)

Private Collection, Kolkata

Given the intimacy in the execution as well as the size of the painting, and the informal gesture of leaving a considerable amount of unpainted area vacant to hold the inscribed text and signature, this painting by Gaganendranath Tagore seems most certainly to be a private exercise that may not have been intended for public display. Of the two phrases, the first one immediately below the painting is a lyric from Rabindrasangeet, the songs composed by Rabindranath Tagore, and the phrase, fragmented out of a song, hints at the transcendental experience where divine touch seems to be all over the body of darkness. The more prosaic phrase above the signature and date is a descriptive hint that the painting is about the previous night's impression from the terrace. (Manifestations XI, 75 Artists, exhibition catalogue, New Delhi, 2014, p. 84)