Karolinum vystavuje obrazy nobelisty Rabíndranátha Thákura

16. 10. 2012; By: P. K., Translation: Ivana Herglová; Proofreading: Olivia Boulton ; Section: English Digest

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was an all-round artist who was awarded the Bengali Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Around 1928, he devoted himself to painting and in honour of the 150^th anniversary of his birth, the Embassy of India in the Czech Republic is exhibiting his paintings and sketches.

His art, which is not widely known in the Czech Republic, has been accessible to the public since 16^th October in the exhibition space of Karolinum.

During the opening of the exhibition on the 15^th October, J.E. Shri Venkatesan Ashok, the ambassador of the Republic of India, said “I am delighted that Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata and Charles University in Prague, made it possible for us to realise an exhibition of the works of one of the best known ambassadors of India”.

At the exhibition in Karolinum, the selection of Tagore's work spans four decades. You can see his paintings, portraits and calligraphic compositions, as well as a representative collection of his literary works, including the Czech translations.

Tagore's art combines both Indian and European aspects. The range of colours used in his work are reminiscent of the expressionist era, and Tagore's style is close to that of Kandinsky, Picasso and Matisse. It is also influenced by Japanese and Chinese art.

The Indian embassy in the Czech Republic has also arranged two concerts for this occasion, to be accompanied by Tagore's poetic works.

Tagore visited Prague on two occasions. The first time was in 1921 at the invitation of Vicenc Lesný, who was the Professor of Indology of Charles University. Lesný was also Tagore's first European translator of Bengali. The second time he visited Prague was at the invitation of Karel Čapek, who was a Czech writer and at the time, chairman of the Czechoslovakian PEN Club (Poets, Essayists and Novelists). This is an organisation promoting friendship and cooperation amongst writers.

Tagore's visits to Prague deeply influenced several cultural figures of the time. The composer Leoš Janáček, inspired by Tagore's poems, wrote a song for a male voice choir based on one of them, which he named “The Wandering Madman”. A verse from this poem is even insribed upon Janáček's grave.

The exhibition can be seen in the exhibition space of Karolinum, Monday – Saturday from 10am-6pm, until the 10^th of November. Entry is free.