The Art Institute of Chicago’s The Last Harvest: The Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore is the first museum exhibition of Tagore's visual work. Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of his birth, the show presents more than 60 works on paper, drawn from three collections in India.
Remembered primarily as a poet, playwright, musician, and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is also recognized as the first non-European recipient of a Nobel Prize for literature, which he received in 1913. Less well known, however, are his sketches and paintings, which he began creating in 1924, at the age of 63 with no formal visual arts training.
Born in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), Tagore spent his youth reading and writing, His poetry was first published when he was a teenager. Over the next several decades, Tagore wrote and published an expansive collection of poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and songs. He also helped lay the groundwork for modern India.
Tagore's cross-cultural encounters during his many trips abroad influenced his visual art, affording him a universal approach and appeal. His first exhibition of his artwork was at the Galerie Pigalle in Paris in May 1930. The show traveled to Europe, Russia, and the United States, earning him critical acclaim in the West, where Expressionists and Surrealists were celebrating the subconscious and exploring raw sensations as a means of breaking from academicism and stylistic conventions.
The Last Harvest: The Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore will be on view in Gallery 50 of the Art Institute of Chicago from January 29 through April 15, 2012. For more information and museum hours,visit www.artinstituteofchicago.org.
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