Sunayani Devi (18 June 1875 – 23 February 1962) was an Indian painter born into the aristocratic Tagore family in Calcutta, West Bengal. She was a self taught artist, with no academic training in art. Inspired by her brothers, Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, and Samarendranath Tagore, she started painting only at the age of 30.[1] She was married at the age of 12[2] to the grandson of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
Sunayani Devi was born on 18 June 1875[3] in the historically influential Tagore family in Calcutta to Gunendranath Thakur and Soudamini Devi.[2] She was married at the age of 12 [2] to Rajanimohan Chattopadhyaya. According to the writer, Partha Mitter, she never had formal training in art other than the art and music lessons as feminine accomplishments.[4]
Painting style and themesedit
Known to be a true primitive of the Bengal Art School, she drew inspiration from the Pata folk painting style which was familiar to the women of the Tagore household, often depicting scenes from Indian epics and mythologies in her works. Some of her notable works are Sadhika, Ardhanarisvar, Satir Dehatyag, Milk Maids and Yashoda and Krishna.[5] According to Stella Kramrisch, she was the first modern painter in India. Her works were exhibited in 1922 as part of the Bauhaus artists' exhibition in Calcutta.[6] Since the beginning, her works have been original and bold. They resemble the ancient Jain manuscript paintings. She applied wash technique to its fullest and later her works echoed the native imagery like village clay dolls that would be used as ornamentation. Her works are an amalgamation of modernist dialogue of primitive simplicity and a larger national discourse of being rooted in its cultural identity, thus carving her image as a nationalist artist. Critical analyses of her portraits, have led her to be addressed as a naive painter, who used folk themes with allure and sensitivity.[7]
^Singh, Kishore (10 April 2015). "It's all relative". Business Standard. Retrieved 16 May 2018. - Helland, Janice (2016). Local/Global: Women Artists in the Nineteenth Century. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 66–67. ISBN978-0-7546-3197-2.
^. The Telegraph. India. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
^. Archived from the original on 14 September 2023.
External linksedit
Profile on Google Arts & Culture
Profile on indianculture.gov.in
April 13, 2024
sunayani, devi, june, 1875, february, 1962, indian, painter, born, into, aristocratic, tagore, family, calcutta, west, bengal, self, taught, artist, with, academic, training, inspired, brothers, abanindranath, tagore, gaganendranath, tagore, samarendranath, ta. Sunayani Devi 18 June 1875 23 February 1962 was an Indian painter born into the aristocratic Tagore family in Calcutta West Bengal She was a self taught artist with no academic training in art Inspired by her brothers Abanindranath Tagore Gaganendranath Tagore and Samarendranath Tagore she started painting only at the age of 30 1 She was married at the age of 12 2 to the grandson of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Sunayani DeviBornSunayani Devi 1875 06 18 18 June 1875Calcutta Bengal presidency British IndiaDied23 February 1962 1962 02 23 aged 86 Calcutta West Bengal IndiaNationalityIndianKnown forPainting Contents 1 Early life 2 Painting style and themes 3 Exhibitions 4 Museums 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editSunayani Devi was born on 18 June 1875 3 in the historically influential Tagore family in Calcutta to Gunendranath Thakur and Soudamini Devi 2 She was married at the age of 12 2 to Rajanimohan Chattopadhyaya According to the writer Partha Mitter she never had formal training in art other than the art and music lessons as feminine accomplishments 4 Painting style and themes editKnown to be a true primitive of the Bengal Art School she drew inspiration from the Pata folk painting style which was familiar to the women of the Tagore household often depicting scenes from Indian epics and mythologies in her works Some of her notable works are Sadhika Ardhanarisvar Satir Dehatyag Milk Maids and Yashoda and Krishna 5 According to Stella Kramrisch she was the first modern painter in India Her works were exhibited in 1922 as part of the Bauhaus artists exhibition in Calcutta 6 Since the beginning her works have been original and bold They resemble the ancient Jain manuscript paintings She applied wash technique to its fullest and later her works echoed the native imagery like village clay dolls that would be used as ornamentation Her works are an amalgamation of modernist dialogue of primitive simplicity and a larger national discourse of being rooted in its cultural identity thus carving her image as a nationalist artist Critical analyses of her portraits have led her to be addressed as a naive painter who used folk themes with allure and sensitivity 7 Exhibitions editAmong Devi s exhibitions are 8 1908 10 12 Exhb Indian Society of Oriental Art Calcutta 1911 United Provinces Exhb organised by Indian Society of Oriental Art Allahabad 1911 Festival of Empire organised by Indian Society of Oriental Art for George V s coronation Crystal Palace London 1924 Travelling exhb organised by Indian Society of Oriental Art and American Federation of Art USA 2004 Manifestations II organised by Delhi Art Gallery Jehangir Art Gallery Mumbai and Delhi Art Gallery New Delhi 9 2011 Summer Oasis organised by Chitrakoot Art Gallery Kolkata 10 Museums editSunayani Devi s paintings are part of the collection of many museums including 11 Indian Museum Kolkata National Gallery of Modern Art Bangalore National Gallery of Modern Art New Delhi National Art Gallery Chennai Sri Chitra Art Gallery Thiruvananthapuram Jaganmohan Palace Mysore University of Lucknow Rabindra Bharati University Museum Kolkata Academy of Fine Arts KolkataReferences edit Singh Kishore 10 April 2015 It s all relative Business Standard Retrieved 16 May 2018 Helland Janice 2016 Local Global Women Artists in the Nineteenth Century Ashgate Publishing pp 66 67 ISBN 978 0 7546 3197 2 a b c Sengupta Subhodh Chandra Basu Anjali eds January 2002 Saroj Nalini Dutt Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan Bibliographical Dictionary in Bengali Vol 1 4th ed Kolkata Shishu Sahitya Samsad p 798 ISBN 81 85626 65 0 Sunayani Devi Goa Art Gallery Retrieved 13 July 2021 Mitter Partha 2007 The Triumph of Modernism India s Artists and the Avant garde 1922 1947 Reaktion Books p 234 ISBN 978 1 86189 318 5 Kar Amina Critical collective Critical Collective Archived from the original on 5 August 2020 Retrieved 3 March 2018 Artists Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 Retrieved 22 July 2022 Milk Maids National Portal and Digital Repository for Museums of India Retrieved 13 July 2021 Goa Art Gallery Title unknown The Hindu 3 August 2004 dead link Timeout The Telegraph India Archived from the original on 3 March 2018 Retrieved 3 March 2018 Her Collections in Museums of India Archived from the original on 14 September 2023 External links editProfile on Google Arts amp Culture Profile on indianculture gov in Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sunayani Devi amp oldid 1206821895, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
