NANDALAL BOSE (1882-1966)

"Nandalal considered himself to be a painter above all. However, he also worked in many other media, creating architectural works, stage set designs, costume designs, and prints. This rare bronze sculpture places emphasis on the rhythmic movement of the figure in the course of her last impassioned dance. The dancer is Srimati, the court performer who sacrificed her life by transforming her dance into a forbidden act of worship of the Buddha.

The early Indian Buddhist story was expanded on by Rabindranath Tagore in his dance drama Natir Puja, which held particular interest for Nandalal because his eldest daughter, Gouri, performed the lead role when it was first staged between 1926 and 1931. Her role as Srimati created a sensation in Bengali society: for the first time, a woman who was not of a low caste was performing in theatre." (Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose, exhibition catalogue, Singapore, 2008, p. 200)