Radha Viraha - Nandalal Bose - Bengal Art School Indian Painting

Nandalal Bose was one of the pioneers of modern Indian art and a key figure of Contextual Modernism. A pupil of Abanindranath Tagore, Bose was known for his "Indian style" of painting. He became the principal of Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan in 1922.

Nandalal Bose (1882-1966) popularly known as the Master Moshai, was a disciple of Abanindranath Tagore.

Nandlal was fascinated by the potential of folk art and indigenous modes of expression and inculcated them in his works although stylising them in a unique representation for depiction and narration of local life. He began his artistic career in the fervour of the Swadeshi movement, rejecting western colonial norms of art and taking inspiration from the ancient murals of Ajanta and Bagh caves as well as Mughal miniatures.

In 1919, Nandalal Bose accepted Rabindranath Tagore's invitation to become the Principal of the art school Kala Bhavan at Visvabharati University in Santiniketan. He also painted a series of posters for the Indian National Congress at Haripura in February 1938.