Dancing Girls
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Ink |
| Current Location: | National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. |
| Location History: | The history of the modernist painting of Indian descent dates back to the turn of the 20th century. It was in the early 1920s when the work Dancing Girls was first performed on paper with ink and watercolors. The piece was the result of the artist’s visit to Maharashtra in 1918-1920, when he studied the Ajanta cave ruins and traced the ancient frescoes. Since the painting was in private possession for the majority of the last century, its whereabouts are known only from the moment of the first public exhibition. It was in the 1960s that Dey’s three dancing girls became the basis for three limited drypoint editions. One of the prints was presented to the museum in Cincinnati, Ohio, and since 1975, it has been part of the permanent collection of the Cincinnati Art Museum. Another surviving print has returned to the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Delhi after an extended period of conservation. |
Mukul Dey’s Dancing Girls (1918–1920) depicts three female dancers inspired by the ancient murals of the Ajanta and Bagh caves. Their graceful postures, delicate hand gestures (mudras), elaborate hairstyles, and flowing garments reflect the beauty and elegance of traditional Indian art. The use of fine pen-and-ink lines and soft watercolour washes creates a sense of movement and harmony. The simplified figures and stylised anatomy emphasise expression rather than realistic representation. The artwork reflects the influence of the Bengal School of Art, which sought to revive traditional Indian artistic styles in response to Western academic art. It also represents the Swadeshi movement’s emphasis on indigenous cultural heritage. Dey’s later adaptation of the composition into drypoint engravings further highlights its significance in the development of modern Indian printmaking.