Portrait study of Mrs. Gaganendranath Tagore

Gaganendranath Tagore’s Portrait Study of Mrs. Gaganendranath Tagore is a simple, intimate portrait, more a moment of observation than a formal effort to record someone’s features. Using brush and ink over pencil, the work depends almost completely on line, movement and spaces left untouched on the paper. The figure is in a quiet but composed presence, and the loose strokes of ink suggest the face, hair and clothing, without describing every detail. This gives a sense of immediacy to the portrait, as if Gaganendranath was drawing her from life, rather than carefully building an ideal image after the event. The unfinished quality is perhaps the most appealing quality of the work. Some areas are darker and more carefully worked, while others are left open, allowing the pencil marks to show through. The result is light and spontaneous but it still catches the sitter as an individual. Gaganendranath’s attitude to the portrait is also characterised by a certain restraint. He does not clothe her in objects or elaborate adornment, so there is little to distract us from her face and stance. The simplicity gives the image a personal quality, particularly since the sitter was his wife. Rather than showing her as majestic or carefully idealised, he appears more concerned with her presence at an ordinary moment. Ink is particularly suited to this, for a few darker lines are enough to define the expression and construction of the face, while softer lines give the rest of the figure its shape. The work also reveals Gaganendranath’s early interest in Japanese brush painting, where a confident stroke could suggest much more than a highly detailed drawing. What I find most interesting is that so much personality comes through, despite the limited means. Colour is no sort of matter for a portrait, nor elaborate dress, nor carefully finished background. It is quiet, private, as if we had been allowed to see a personal sketch that was not intended to impress a great crowd. That quality makes the painting strangely human. This drawing is not merely a description of Mrs. Gaganendranath’s looks, but a peep into the artist’s vision of her, sitting near enough to scrutinise her face and catch her in a few strokes of thought. The work is now in the collection of Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta.