INTRODUCTION
One of the most eminent scholar, philosopher, thinker, activist, artist, and our most beloved Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. He is an art in himself and globally recognized as a Nobel Laureate who was born in the year 1861 and died in the year 1941. He embarked as an artist late in his life and yet showed us what a remarkable journey of both philosophy and art looks like. When he was 67, in 1928, he started his career as a painter. He wasn’t trained formally, but by 1940, he had touched two thousand collections of paintings, which was very different from the notion of classical Indian traditions. His collection of art was not merely about the aesthetic, but rather it tells a humanistic philosophy, a profound expression of the inner world, and a story that depicts humanistic lives, and an artistic touch of his poems and music in the art. From his historical legacy, his paintings were the first artistic expressions from India, which were exhibited across Europe, Russia, and the United States. It was one of the turning points in Tagore’s life, which made him not only popular but also a philosopher and artist who could depict philosophy through art. The most important feature of Tagore’s art is that it carries the concept of Humanism, which saw its origin in the Renaissance period, which was not merely an intellectual movement but also emphasized human values, interests, individualism, and individual expressions. In the case of Tagore’s perception, the humanistic approach in his art depicts spiritual humanism and also contains the touch of Indian philosophical ideas taken from the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, with Western thought. In this article, we will look at how Tagore reflected the idea of humanism in terms of a more comprehensive and empathetic form in a few of his paintings.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE’S HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY
The roots of Tagore’s philosophy could be traced to ancient Indian scriptures such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, which will help us to understand the core tenets of the ‘divinity of man’ and the ‘unity behind the world’s apparent diversity.’ Tagore always believed in the concept of the ‘Universal Man’ (Viswa Manav), which showcases unity, freedom, and the essence of divine well-being in human nature. From this we could understand that his humanistic philosophy lies in the aspect where each and every human is the carrier of the ‘divine seed,’ and this helps humans to get liberation by becoming aware of and deeply connectedwith the divine. Here, ‘divine doesn’t define the structural one; rather, it says the divine, which cannot be seen, is one who has no structure or shape and can only be felt. In Tagore’s perception, spirituality is the core belief of humanism, where spirituality makes a man closer to the values of humanity, thus emphasizing that actuarial service to mankind is like a service to God. Another philosophical value that Tagore used to perceive is that every entity in this world is not separate; they are connected, which often depicts the divine order. There are two fundamental aspects of a human: the physical nature of a man, which is limited, and the infinite spiritual nature. Between these two poles, man acts as a bridge, and through humankind, one could reach the endpoints of the spiritual realm. Tagore stated that “man seeks expression in the creation of the beautiful and the good, defining this as the proper function of art.” This tells us how the paintings of Tagore immerse us into the inner world of realization, which is a world full of expressions.
Rabindranath Tagore Paintings, Style, Symbolism & Modern Indian Art
TAGORE’S ARTISTIC EVOLUTION AND MODERNIST VISION
Tagore’s touch on artistry was unconventional, and around his sixties, his doodles took the form of art that turned cross-out words and lines into images within his manuscripts. This rise of an unconventional artist shows a departure from the classical Indian traditions and took a very different form from the dominant Indian revivalist aesthetic, the Bengal School of Art, which was led by Abanindranath Tagore. The main focus of this school was the revival of the indigenous art of India, and on the other hand, Rabindranath emphasized a more humanistic approach that focuses on interior reality, deep-rooted perception, and mankind. He popularized the modernist and expressionist approach in his art and incorporated different kinds of elements from Art Nouveau and Jugendstil graphics. His work included non-Western cultures such as Native Americans, Oceanic, and African ritual masks, totemic animals, and body tattoos. He incorporated these elements into his art. He was inspired by artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Edvard Munch. The most important feature of Tagore’s art was that he popularized simple, bold forms with rhythmic composition and was known for using a very limited color palette and unique tools such as cotton swabs and rags. He used to apply colors with his fingers, and sometimes accidents would happen, but he used to define it as a new creative form. His artistic legacy showed us the spontaneous circulation of man between the inner world and the outer world, and by connecting with the inner world, one can fully manifest the divine that breaks the bridge between the individual world and the spiritual world. His art gave way to universal humanism, which demonstrates the consciousness upon which humans live. His art has become a powerful testament that blends human creativity and the spiritual realm.
The Woman’s Face
MANIFESTATIONS OF HUMANISM IN TAGORE’S PAINTINGS
Tagore’s paintings delve into various humanistic approaches with a main focus on expressions, where every humanistic painting of Tagore depicts various philosophical insights. The following paragraphs will tell us with a few examples:
One of the foremost humanistic paintings of Tagore is the “Woman’s Face,” one of the best examples of Tagore’s own created portrait of a female face. This female face has large, melancholic eyes that hold various inburst emotions and a dull expression, as if the female is holding too many emotions tightly. This face depicts both vulnerability, resilience, and strength. Sepia ink is used, which makes the painting nostalgic, dreamy, yet intense, as it shows beauty with strong, empowered resilience. This portrait shows the psychological depth of human emotions and how humans can hold too much yet have the abi
ability to show strength and empathy. She is going through the silent suffering, which made her an explorer of her interior world.
Another notable example is the ‘Dancing Woman’, a woman who is portrayed in a dancing position and who is full of rendered expressive emotions. This depicts the spontaneous connection between rhythm and movement and expressions that capture the minds of people and fill them with vitality and rhythm. This picture has composite creations with half-human and half-bird. This whole depiction of the picture tells us how dance can liberate one from intense emotional burden and make a way towards the path of healing, and through this path, one can connect with their interior spiritual self. Tagore always believed that dance is a universal language, and by this, one could achieve freedom and get aligned with the spiritual truth that connects with the innermost selves.
Another painting of Tagore, “Head Study (geometric)”, is nothing but an experimentation with geometric abstraction to depict a human head. He used to make human heads through sharp lines and different shapes in a fractured position, which talks about both memory and emotions. This head carries a blind eye that evokes a sense of inner introspection, and to define it, black ink has been used to make it look deep. This shows how human psychology is complex in nature, human engagement with problems, and the various landscapes of the human mind. In this whole picture, it not only demonstrates the inner turmoil but also deepens the complexities of human thought, which every human cannot decode, and to attain this, one should look into the inner realm that connects them with the divine.
Thus, these are the few most prominent to understand the foundational philosophical humanistic approach of Tagore through these paintings.
The masked face
CONCLUSION
In an unconventional way, the artistic creativity of Rabindranath found its profound shape that acts as one of the strongest artistic yet creative testaments, breaking free from classical Indian traditions and embracing modernism by not forgetting the Indian philosophical roots. From bold lines or shapes, the human forms of Tagore found their way to the workshops across the globe, which articulated the concept of ‘universal man’ and the ‘inner world os spirituality.’ His humanistic approach layered various means to connect with spirituality, which could liberate man from any kind of inner turmoil and boundations, and one of the most important aspects is that it helps humans to connect with themselves.
WORK CITED
https://www.astaguru.com/blogs/rabindranath-tagores-10-iconic-paintings-with-detailed-descriptions-477
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/woman-s-face-rabindranath-tagore/0QGSmyTkDbRNXw?hl=en
https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/art/a13314-life-of-an-artist-rabindranath-tagore/
https://paintphotographs.com/article/rabindranath-tagore-paintings-style-symbolism-modern-indian-art
https://www.jetir.
org/papers/JETIR1906896.pdf