Pen and ink sketch of a temple and a letter to Rathindranath Tagore

3.5 x 5.5 in

Letter dated 28th May 1950

Provenance: Estate of Rathindranath Tagore

An artist closely linked to the cultural world of Santiniketan and the Tagores, Prosanto Roy developed a nuanced language of form rooted in both Indian aesthetics and global modernism. Raised in a musically rich Brahmo household in Burrabazar, Calcutta, Roy received early tutelage from European and Indian masters, later becoming a student of Abanindranath Tagore and deeply influenced by Gaganendranath Tagore’s Cubism. His artistic practice spanned painting, stage design, music, and photography—blending poetic sensibility with formal experimentation.

This rare postcard sketch—accompanied by a handwritten letter addressed to Rathindranath Tagore at his Kalimpong residence “Chitrabhanu”—was made during Roy’s travels in Odisha. The image of the Konark temple reflects Roy’s interest in architectural forms and landscape as meditative spaces. Dated May 1950, the work comes from a period when Roy had already begun incorporating Cubist geometries and Indian motifs in his art, and just two years before he formally joined Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan, as Curator of the Museum.

The postcard not only documents Roy’s refined draughtsmanship but also reveals his personal rapport with the Tagore family. An important cultural artefact, it testifies to the artist’s rootedness in Bengal’s modernist movement, his intimate artistic networks, and his deep observational engagement with India’s historical sites.