A Moonlight Music Party by Abanindranath Tagore, print, Bengal, 1900-1930

In this chromoxylograph a group of people sit and listen to a lady playing a sitar. The print was especially made in Japan from wood-blocks as requested by the Indian Society of Oriental Art.

This print was one of several made for a special edition portfolio published by the Indian Society of Oriental Art. The museum has one copy of this portfolio which is stored in the same box as IS.300-1951. Each print is attached to a page of the protfolio, the page is signed by the artist. The portfolio has an accomanying letterpress which states that the original is in the collection of Mr N. Blount.

Given by Lady Sonia Wilson

Gift. RF 51/3488. From the Collection of Sir E. B. Havell. Given by Lady Sonia Wilson, daughter of E.B. Havell.

This print was one of several made for a special edition portfolio published by the Indian Society of Oriental Art. The museum has one copy of this portfolio which is stored in the same box as IS.300-1951. Each print is attached to a page of the protfolio, the page is signed by the artist. The portfolio has an accomanying letterpress which states that the title of the print is 'A moonlight music party' and that the original is in the collection of Mr N. Blount.

Abanindranath Tagore (1871 - 1951) was the pioneer and leading exponent of the Bengal School of Art. In his paintings, he sought to counter the influence of Western art as taught in art schools under the British Raj, by modernizing indigenous Moghul and Rajput traditions. His work became so influential that it was eventually accepted and regarded as a national Indian style.

In his work, Abanindranath retrieved themes from the Indian epic past or scenes from romantic tales, such as Arabian Nights or Omar Khaiyam and reworked them in a highly romanticised style. The artist’s desire to emancipate Indian art from European influence was also fostered by Japanese artist Okakura Kakuzo, who visited him in 1902. Later, studying Japanese art under Japanese artists, Taikoan and Hilsida, Abanindranath assimilated Far Eastern techniques such as the wash into his work. His Omar Khaiyam series (1906-08) reflects such influences. Abanindranath’s use of colour was also highly personalized and found its appropriate language in two major techniques: wash and tempera.

In this scene, we see a group of people who sit and listen to a lady playing a sitar. The artist, Abanindranath Tagore (1871 - 1951) was the pioneer and leading exponent of the Bengal School of Art which flourished between 1905 and 1920. In his paintings, he sought to counter the influence of Western art as taught in art schools under the British Raj, by modernizing indigenous Moghul and Rajput traditions. His work became so influential that it was eventually accepted and came to be regarded as a national Indian style.

IS.300-1951