Abanindranath Tagore and Okakura Kakuzō: a brief comparison on biographical, technical/methodological, and theoretical grounds

This paper has the aim to present the two figures of Abanindranath Tagore and Okakura Kakuzō, both leading thinkers in their own countries with respect to the reassessment, creation, and rediscovery of tradition and national identity, the former – Aban – being the founder of the Bengal School of Painting and considered the long-awaited representative of the re-enactment of artistic tradition, and the latter – Okakura – being the promoter of the ideology of Pan- Asianism and of the Nihonga school of painting. The purpose of this paper is to try to shed light on the relationship between the two, highlighting not only the several similarities that allow the drawing of a comparison between them, but also focusing on those features that, on the contrary – even signaling the direct influences that can be detected – mark a shifting, a re-thinking, or an overtaking of concepts previously shared and compared. The comparison will be managed on three different levels. The first of these is biographical, underlining some communal elements in their life-stories – something which can be considered as possibly coming out of simple casualty, but which in fact has clearly led the two to share similar experiences and thus shaped their thought and approaches in a similar manner. The second is technical/methodological, in regards to the reception and incorporation in Abanindranath’s way of painting in a specific technique – later called the ‘wash technique’ – derived from the Japanese Nihonga school, a technique whose purpose was actually counter-posed in its usage. The third and final comparison will be done on the theoretical level, showing the extent to which the thought of Okakura influenced that of Abanindranath, and how the latter’s developed divergently, being rooted in a different political, social, and cultural context.