View source for Rabindranath Tagore

=== Art works ===
{{multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center
 | image1 = Rabindranath Tagore Rabindra Bhavana collection 2155 pastel mask.jpg
 | width1 = 150
 | alt1 = Black-and-white photograph of a stylised sketch depicting a tribal funerary mask.
 | caption1 = Primitivism: a pastel-coloured rendition of a [[Malagan]] mask from northern [[New Ireland Province|New Ireland]], Papua New Guinea
 | image2 = Rabindranath Tagore Ra-Tha seal initials.jpg
 | width2 = 154
 | alt2 = Black-and-white close-up photograph of a piece of wood boldly painted in unmixed solid strokes of black and white in a stylised semblance to "ro" and "tho" from the Bengali syllabary.
 | caption2 = Tagore's Bengali-language initials, the letters র and ঠ, are worked into this "Ro-Tho" (of RAbindranath THAkur) wooden seal, stylistically similar to designs used in traditional [[Haida argillite carvings|Haida carvings]] from the [[Pacific Northwest]] region of North America. Tagore often embellished his manuscripts with such art.{{Sfn|Dyson|2001}}
}}
At sixty, Tagore took up drawing and painting; successful exhibitions of his many works—which made a debut appearance in Paris upon encouragement by artists he met in the south of France{{Sfn|Tagore|1997b|p=222}}—were held throughout Europe. He was likely red, green [[protanopia|color blind]], resulting in works that exhibited strange color schemes and off-beat aesthetics. Tagore was influenced by numerous styles, including [[scrimshaw]] by the [[Malanggan]] people of northern [[New Ireland (island)|New Ireland]], [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Haida argillite carvings|Haida carvings]] from the [[Pacific Northwest]] region of North America, and woodcuts by the German [[Max Pechstein]].{{Sfn|Dyson|2001}} His artist's eye for handwriting was revealed in the simple artistic and rhythmic [[leitmotif]]s embellishing the scribbles, cross-outs, and word layouts of his manuscripts. Some of Tagore's lyrics corresponded in a synesthetic sense with particular paintings.{{Sfn|Ghosh|2011}}

{{blockquote|Surrounded by several painters Rabindranath had always wanted to paint. Writing and music, playwriting and acting came to him naturally and almost without training, as it did to several others in his family, and in even greater measure. But painting eluded him. Yet he tried repeatedly to master the art and there are several references to this in his early letters and reminiscence. In 1900 for instance, when he was nearing forty and already a celebrated writer, he wrote to Jagadish Chandra Bose, "You will be surprised to hear that I am sitting with a sketchbook drawing. Needless to say, the pictures are not intended for any salon in Paris, they cause me not the least suspicion that the national gallery of any country will suddenly decide to raise taxes to acquire them. But, just as a mother lavishes most affection on her ugliest son, so I feel secretly drawn to the very skill that comes to me least easily." He also realized that he was using the eraser more than the pencil, and dissatisfied with the results he finally withdrew, deciding it was not for him to become a painter.<ref>[[R. Siva Kumar]] (2011) ''[[The Last Harvest: Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore]]''.</ref>}}

[[File:Rabindranath Tagore Woman Face.jpg|thumb|Face of a woman, inspired by [[Kadambari Devi]].{{sfn|Som|2010|pp=144–145}} Ink on paper. [[National Gallery of Modern Art]], New Delhi]]
India's [[National Gallery of Modern Art]] lists 102 works by Tagore in its collections.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ngmaindia.gov.in/ngma_rabindranath-tagore-gallery.asp|title=National Gallery of Modern Art – Mumbai:Virtual Galleries|access-date=23 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ngmaindia.gov.in/collections.asp|title=National Gallery of Modern Art:Collections|access-date=23 October 2017}}</ref>

In 1937, Tagore's paintings were removed from Berlin's baroque [[Kronprinzenpalais|Crown Prince Palace]] by the Nazi regime and five were included in the inventory of "[[degenerate art]]" compiled by the Nazis in 1941–1942.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-11-21 |title=Rabindranath Tagore: When Hitler purged India Nobel laureate's paintings |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-63651606 |access-date=2022-11-21}}</ref>