History Paintings & Portraits of Indian Leaders

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, 1954, Gerasimov, Oil on Canvas

Location: Ganatantra Mandap

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India (1947-1964) is shown in his characteristic attire of a bandhgala, pyjama, Gandhi topi and buckled black shoes. A petite rose is placed on his chest. Standing in frontal posture against a subtle background, his right hand is placed atop a book on the table, enveloped in red drape with intricate Indian embroideries. The left hand holds a book and there is a poster of Mahatma Gandhi on his right.

Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14 November 1889. He emerged as a significant figure in India’s independence movement under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi. Jawaharlal Nehru is remembered as the architect of the modern Indian nation-state as a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic. He died on 27th May, 1964. .

Gerasimov, a propagator of socialist realism in visual arts was born in 1881. He studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture from 1903-1915. He taught at the State Art School at Vkhutemas in the 1920s and 1930s. Following this, a series of posters and paintings were executed by him for the newly formed communist government, which was later identified as Gerasimov’s signature style of art.