Abanindranath's 'Bharat Mata' to be exhibited in Kolkata

The Victoria Memorial Hall (VMH) here will hold a single-object exhibition of celebrated Indian painter Abanindranath Tagore's iconic painting of Bharat Mata (Mother India) on May 16.

The famous 1905 watercolour, part of the Rabindra Bharati Society collection, is currently housed in the VMH and will be put on display, said a VMH statement on Tuesday, citing Secretary and Curator Jayanta Sengupta.

It shows a woman clad in a saffron garb holding various objects in four arms.

"As the issue of singing a paean to the figure of Mother India seems to be implicating the much bigger questions of nationalism, citizenship, and freedom of speech in contemporary India, it may be useful to remember that arguably the most iconic artistic representation of Mother India in Indian history -- Abanindranath Tagore's Bharat Mata (1905), painted during the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal - is housed in none other than the VMH," said Sengupta.

Abanindranath, a nephew of Noble laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, was one of the first Indian artists to gain international recognition.

--IANS

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