'The first Bengali Governor, where is H.E.?'
Painting
1920s (Made)
1920s (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Gaganendranath Tagore (1867-1938) was a satirical cartoonist and painter. Born in Calcutta, Gaganendranath grew up in a family whose exceptional creativity spearheaded Calcutta's cultural scene. Gaganendranath was nephew of poet Rabindranath Tagore and brother of Abanindranath Tagore, the pioneer and leading exponent of the Bengal School of Art.
The postcard depicts the globe set in space with the area in its centre marked by the word 'India'. There is a small group of top hatted figures towards which point telescopes from all angles. Above the scene an orange moon or a sun wearing sun glasses peeps over the Hymalayas above India. The inscription on the bottom right reads: 'The First Bengali Governor where is H.E.?' The cartoon appeared in larger scale in Modern Revue. The artist inscribed on the reverse: 'My dear Roop, Many thanks for your letter. I am still busy with my series of cartoons. I am finishing one every day. Just finished this in a larger scale which will appear in the June number of Modern Revue.' (Roop Krishna was born in Lahore and moved to Calcutta to study painting under Gaganendranath and Abanindranath. He was involved with the Oriental Society of Oriental Art (1908). Krishna enrolled at the Royal College of Art in London under Sir William Rothenstein where he developed his own modernist style. The artist was part of Gertrude Stein's circle of poets and artists.)
The satirical cartoon commented on the current political situation of Bengal. Under the Government of India Act, 1919, the system of government of several of the Indian provinces was rationalised and a new system of power-sharing introduced. Following the Act, several provinces acquired Governors under the new system. The majority were appointed in late 1920 or early 1921. Bengal had to wait a year longer, until 28 March 1922, for the installation of its new Governor, Lord Lytton. Gaganendranath's cartoon therefore would appear to refer to this delay, and highlights the attention being given to the new bureaucrats, who were unfavourably viewed by many sections of the Indian political community. The cartoon was included in Modern Revue in 1921.
The postcard depicts the globe set in space with the area in its centre marked by the word 'India'. There is a small group of top hatted figures towards which point telescopes from all angles. Above the scene an orange moon or a sun wearing sun glasses peeps over the Hymalayas above India. The inscription on the bottom right reads: 'The First Bengali Governor where is H.E.?' The cartoon appeared in larger scale in Modern Revue. The artist inscribed on the reverse: 'My dear Roop, Many thanks for your letter. I am still busy with my series of cartoons. I am finishing one every day. Just finished this in a larger scale which will appear in the June number of Modern Revue.' (Roop Krishna was born in Lahore and moved to Calcutta to study painting under Gaganendranath and Abanindranath. He was involved with the Oriental Society of Oriental Art (1908). Krishna enrolled at the Royal College of Art in London under Sir William Rothenstein where he developed his own modernist style. The artist was part of Gertrude Stein's circle of poets and artists.)
The satirical cartoon commented on the current political situation of Bengal. Under the Government of India Act, 1919, the system of government of several of the Indian provinces was rationalised and a new system of power-sharing introduced. Following the Act, several provinces acquired Governors under the new system. The majority were appointed in late 1920 or early 1921. Bengal had to wait a year longer, until 28 March 1922, for the installation of its new Governor, Lord Lytton. Gaganendranath's cartoon therefore would appear to refer to this delay, and highlights the attention being given to the new bureaucrats, who were unfavourably viewed by many sections of the Indian political community. The cartoon was included in Modern Revue in 1921.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | 'The first Bengali Governor, where is H.E.?' (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in watercolour on cardboard |
| Brief description | Painting, cartoon, 'The first Bengali Governor, where is H.E.?', by Gaganendranath Tagore, watercolour on postcard, Kolkata, 1920s |
| Physical description | The postcard, painted in watercolour, depicts the globe set in space with the area in its centre marked by the word 'India'. There is a small group of figures wearing top-hats towards which are pointed telescopes from all angles. There is an orange moon or a sun wearing sun glasses peeping over the Himalayas above India. The inscription on the bottom right reads: 'The First Bengali Governor. Where is H.E.?' The cartoon appeared in larger scale in Modern Review. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | The artist inscribed on the reverse: 'My dear Roop, Many thanks for your letter. I am still busy with my series of cartoons. I am finishing one every day. Just finished this in a larger scale which will appear in the June number of Modern Revue. Very hot here. How are you? Yours Affly G. Tagore' There is no postmark or stamp. |
| Object history | Historical Notes: R.F.84/1984. The postcard was purchased with the help of Partha Mitter from Sotheby's in 1984. Historical significance: The satirical cartoon commented on the current political situation of Bengal. Under the Government of India Act, 1919, the system of government of several of the Indian provinces was rationalised and a new system of power-sharing introduced. Following the Act, several provinces acquired Governors under the new system. The majority were appointed in late 1920 or early 1921. Bengal had to wait a year longer, until 28 March 1922, for the installation of its new Governor, Lord Lytton. Gaganendranath's cartoon therefore would appear to refer to this delay, and highlights the attention being given to the new bureaucrats, who were unfavourably viewed by many sections of the Indian political community. The cartoon was included in Modern Revue in 1921. |
| Historical context | Gaganendranath Tagore (1867-1938) was a satirical cartoonist and painter. Born in Calcutta, Gaganendranath grew up in a family whose exceptional creativity spearheaded Calcutta's cultural scene. Gaganendranath was nephew of poet Rabindranath Tagore and brother of Abanindranath Tagore, the pioneer and leading exponent of the Bengal School of Art. The artist received no formal education but was trained under the British school watercolourist Harinarayan Bandopadhyay. In 1907, he founded the Indian Society of Oriental Art with his brother Abanindranath. Between 1906 and 1910, the artist assimilated the Japanese brush technique and Far Eastern pictorial conventions into his own work (see his illustrations for Rabindranath Tagore's autobiography Jeevansmriti published in 1912.) From 1910 until 1914, Gaganendranath developed his own approach to SUMI-E or black ink (see Chaitanya series and Pilgrim series.) Between 1915 and 1919, the artist, with the help of his brother, set up the Bichitra club in the Tagore family house. The club served as an important social, intellectual and artistic hub of cultural life in Calcutta, where many artists, including Nandalal Bose, A.K. Haldar and Suren Kar worked at their paintings. During these years, Gaganendranath abandoned the ideological revivalism embraced by the Bengal School of Art and took up caricature to satirize the westernised middle class of urban Bengal. The artist's popularity was secured in 1917 when Modern Review published many of his shrewd cartoons. From 1917 onwards, his lithographs appeared in a series of books, including: Play of Opposites, Realm of the Absurd and Reform Screams. In these mocking pieces, the austerity of Kalighat paintings is wedded to the simplicity of Japanese prints. Between 1920 until 1925, Gaganendranath, informed about modern European art, pioneered experiments in cubism colour and in ink. His work however, was pictorially closer to the dynamism of Italian Futurism rather than the work of Picasso and Braque. From 1925 onwards, the artist developed a complex post-cubist style. Gaganendranath's work has been exhibited internationally. |
| Summary | Gaganendranath Tagore (1867-1938) was a satirical cartoonist and painter. Born in Calcutta, Gaganendranath grew up in a family whose exceptional creativity spearheaded Calcutta's cultural scene. Gaganendranath was nephew of poet Rabindranath Tagore and brother of Abanindranath Tagore, the pioneer and leading exponent of the Bengal School of Art. The postcard depicts the globe set in space with the area in its centre marked by the word 'India'. There is a small group of top hatted figures towards which point telescopes from all angles. Above the scene an orange moon or a sun wearing sun glasses peeps over the Hymalayas above India. The inscription on the bottom right reads: 'The First Bengali Governor where is H.E.?' The cartoon appeared in larger scale in Modern Revue. The artist inscribed on the reverse: 'My dear Roop, Many thanks for your letter. I am still busy with my series of cartoons. I am finishing one every day. Just finished this in a larger scale which will appear in the June number of Modern Revue.' (Roop Krishna was born in Lahore and moved to Calcutta to study painting under Gaganendranath and Abanindranath. He was involved with the Oriental Society of Oriental Art (1908). Krishna enrolled at the Royal College of Art in London under Sir William Rothenstein where he developed his own modernist style. The artist was part of Gertrude Stein's circle of poets and artists.) The satirical cartoon commented on the current political situation of Bengal. Under the Government of India Act, 1919, the system of government of several of the Indian provinces was rationalised and a new system of power-sharing introduced. Following the Act, several provinces acquired Governors under the new system. The majority were appointed in late 1920 or early 1921. Bengal had to wait a year longer, until 28 March 1922, for the installation of its new Governor, Lord Lytton. Gaganendranath's cartoon therefore would appear to refer to this delay, and highlights the attention being given to the new bureaucrats, who were unfavourably viewed by many sections of the Indian political community. The cartoon was included in Modern Revue in 1921. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.196-1984 |
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| Record created | March 26, 2009 |
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