Gaganendranath Tagore’s Portrait of Dr. A. Coomaraswami, painted in 1909, is a simple but expressive portrait of the art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy . The work is done in brush and ink and is from Gaganendranath's early period when he was experimenting with line and Japanese inspired brush techniques. Coomaraswamy’s figure is depicted slightly to the side, with the head and shoulders taking up most of the small sheet. There is little in the picture to distract the eye from the face, so the portrait depends almost wholly upon the artist's treatment of the line. With a few sure strokes Gaganendranath hints the hair, face, clothing and outline of the figure, leaving portions of the paper almost untouched. This adds to the freshness of the portrait, as if the artist was drawing someone sitting in front of him, rather than a carefully staged formal image. What makes the work particularly interesting is the relationship between the two men. Coomaraswamy was intimately connected with the Tagore family and was rising to prominence as a scholar and promoter of Indian art, and Gaganendranath was starting to discover himself as an artist. The portrait appears then to be a small record of an intellectual and artistic circle that was emerging in early twentieth century Bengal. There is a certain appeal in its lack of extraneous detail. Gaganendranath does not attempt to make Coomaraswamy into something grand or imposing. Rather, the starkness of the drawing makes him look thoughtful and accessible. The loose ink marks give character to the face without overworking and the open background keeps the viewer focused on the sitter. That’s the simplicity that makes the portrait so appealing to me. It does not resemble an official portrait but a private sketch by an artist who had a genuine interest in the person before him. The work is now in the collection of Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta.
Gaganendranath Tagore - Portrait of Dr. A. Coomaraswami, 1909 This portrait, subtle rather than elaborate, is seen as a personal rendering of the eminent art historian, Ananda Coomaraswamy, by his artist friend Gaganendranath Tagore. Instead of a literal interpretation of the sitters, Label describes Tagore's use of just a few poetic lines and washes to indicate a profile, which allow the sitter's face and focus to overwhelm the work. It was one of the labels will refer to as one of the first examples of Tagore's experimentation with pencil and ink portraiture.
The most evident feature of the piece is its restraint. One can see no background, no adornment, no hint of the model's social standing. We see Coomaraswamy in his purest form, his head tilted and turned to the side, seemingly lost in thought. The fact that it is unfinished only enhances this impression of intimacy, capturing a fleeting glimpse of the figure rather than a constructed personality.
This may also be viewed as an allegory of persuasion and mental companionship. Tagore doesn't tell us all about Coomaraswamy, he leaves something to be left to the imagination. The few lines point to the fact that the inner person cannot be expressed entirely through the physical being, and here the picture becomes a collaboration of two minds, one observing, the other thinking silently.
