Jamini Roy and Gao Jianfu's Overlooked Collaboration
This research note is about Gao Jianfu, the founding member of the Lingnan School of art, his travel to India, and a hitherto undocumented collaboration / influence with Jamini Roy.
Gao Jianfu with a member of the Tagore family. Image Credit: Wikipedia.
Gao Jianfu with Rabindranath Tagore in Darjeeling, 1931. Image credit: Reference 2.
Interestingly, Gao Jianfu made his journey to India to trace the sources of Han and Tang art, which came from India. (1). This travel to India happened in the early 1930s. This travel appears to have coincided somewhat with Jamini Roy’s landmark exhibition at the Government School (renamed to college after 1951) of Art in 1929.
Sir Alfred Watson’s (editor of the Statesman) comments on Jamini Roy's exhibition are to be noted. He said, “Those who study the various pictures will be able to trace the development of the mind of an artist constantly seeking his own mode of expression…His work will repay study…” (2)
Unexplored Artistic Exchange
Some artworks seen in Jianfu’s museum in China include the following.
Image Credit - Reference 2.
Clearly, these artworks are inspired from Jamini Roy's early experiments and Jamini’s style and his use of native tempera. There can be little doubt on this.
Jamini Roy's early experiments. Image credit: Reference 6.
And yet there is no mention of the interaction between the two artists. Though interactions with Abanindranath Tagore are noted, who was Jamini’s Professor and mentor at the Government College of Art. The influence of Jamini Roy, should be obvious to anyone, based on the above works, even those with a perfunctory knowledge of Jamin’s art.
This is what we mean by ignoring the elephant in the room.
There is another work of Jianfu from 1931 which is recorded by The MET to be inspired by Abanindranath Tagore (4). This is INCORRECT - it is inspired (influenced) from Jamini Roy. However, the distinction may not be crucial due to the close connection between Abanindranath Tagore and Jamini Roy, as well as their shared goal of seeking a modernism that was local and not inspired by Western influences.
Gao Jianfu, Ancient Warrior, 1931. Image Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Rabindranath Tagore had won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913 - he was a father figure. The grandson of one of the wealthiest men in India. A man with international stature and certainly the most news worthy. Calcutta was also a hub of political activity. There is also a tendency even till today to broadly describe the influences from the “East” as simply being Japan. Influences from China and other parts of Asia somewhat being ignored. Maybe for these reasons, such interactions with Jamini did not make it to the press.
Luckily, we are left with artworks that are ample clues in themselves and point to such interactions, inspirations, and/or collaborations.
References
1 - Amitava Bhattacahrya, Survey of Sino-Indian Artistic Discourse, Liu Weiming discussion (Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, 2014)
2 - Amitava Bhattacahrya, Survey of Sino-Indian Artistic Discourse (Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, 2014)
3 - Edited by Tan Chung, Amiya Dev, Wang Bangwei, Wei Liming, Tagore and China (Central Compilation & Translation Press, 2011)
4 - Gao Jianfu - Ancient Warrior - China - The Metropolitan Museum of Art
5 - Edited by Amit Mukhopadhyay, 100 Years of Kalabhavana (Lalit Kala Academy, 2023).
6. Dhoomimal Gallery, Jamini Roy: Uma, Ravi & Ram Babu Jain Estate
Feedback from Amitava Bhattacharya
"A new point raised in this nice article . It is the artistic exchange between gao and jamini babu. In few works of gao we find a kind of patchitra and jaminybabu . Gao was not influenced by abanbabu but he praised abanbabu and bengal school of art . During my research I overlooked the point you raised . Thank you . "
