History Paintings & Portraits of Indian Leaders

Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, Biren De, Oil on Canvas

Location: Ganatantra Mandap

Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was the first Indian to become the Governor General of India from July 1948- January 1950. He was a lawyer, writer and freedom fighter, born on 10 December, 1878. Studying at the Central College, Bangalore and Presidency College, Madras, he went on to become the Governor of West Bengal, Governor General of India and later Minister of Home affairs of Madras. He received theBharat Ratna in 1953.

C. Rajagopalachari is seen with an elongated oval face with his spectacles in dark tone in circular design. He wears a white dhoti-kurta and a shawl covers his chest. This full length portrait of C. Rajagopalachari has eyes in direct communion with the observer. Folds of hiskurta flow in a downward fall, representing a naturalistic character, further emphasised by his slightly bent posture while holding a stick in his right hand. The background is formed from subtle clouds with his form standing against a window of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Born in 1926, Biren De obtained a diploma in Fine Art from Government College of Arts and Crafts in Kolkata in 1949. He was a pioneer in painting geometric patterns with a centralbindu represented as a centre of intense light against a dark background as his signature style.