Painting

This scene shows a figure wrapped in a red cape, riding a white horse along the side of a mountain. The figure of the sage could perhaps have been inspired by the maroon-robed Tibetan monks whom the artist would have encountered when painting landscapes at Darjeeling in 1919-20.

Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951) was the pioneer and leading exponent of the Bengal School of Art. In his paintings, he sought to counter the influence of Western art as taught in art schools under the British Raj, by modernizing indigenous Moghul and Rajput traditions. His work became so influential that it was eventually accepted and regarded as a national Indian style. Later, studying Japanese art under Japanese artists, Taikoan and Hilsida, Abanindranath assimilated Far Eastern techniques such as the wash into his work. This painting shows his use of the wash technique.