Page 38 - Pundole's Auction M0015

The Santiniketan Murals

‘Santiniketan holds a unique position in the cultural history of India, as the embodiment of a concept and
an ideal which was part of what is largely regarded as a cultural renaissance in the early part of the
century. The cultural leaders and artists who committed themselves to Santiniketan felt a need to view
all the arts and crafts as a single connected panorama in order to revitalize the roots of their traditions.
They wanted to see art as part of daily life, not just in museums, picture galleries or the audience halls of
the affluent. They also wanted to keep alive the priceless methods and techniques that had contributed
to forming the distinct personality of the country’s age-old visual tradition of murals. As a result they
turned Santiniketan into a rich open air museum of modern Indian art with several in situ murals, some
of which are landmarks of Indian art history.’

(Jayanta Chakrabarti, from a book synopsis of The Santiniketan Murals, New Delhi, 1995)

The Santhal Girl, an almost life size mural painted by Nandalal Bose in Natir Puja, by Nandalal Bose, sold at Pundole’s in September 2013. The
1933 on the ground floor verandah of the Library Building (now called work is a preparatory drawing for a panel that forms part of the same
Patha Bhavana) in Santiniketan. mural on the ground floor verandah of the Library Building in Santiniketan.

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