It is widely known that Rabindranath Tagore took up painting at an advanced age — he was already 60 — and although he is deified as a poet, people in this part of the world are still uncertain about his genius as an artist.

Tagore held his first major exhibition — 262 works — in India in 1932 at the Government School of Art (later the Government College of Art and Craft) from February 20 to 29. Tagore had first shown his works at Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan on October 10, 1928, and earlier that year, he had stayed at the art institution between August 8 and 31 and done some paintings. In December 1931, too, he had exhibited some works in Town Hall to celebrate his 70th birthday. That was for three days only. “Drawings, paintings, engravings, pottery and leatherwork” by Tagore were exhibited at the school of art. The poet, in a statement to Anandabazar Patrika, protested the use of the honorific “Sir” before his name in the catalogue, although he had famously rejected it earlier, and the addition of titles to his works as well.

The only relic that remained of this exhibition was the catalogue, and “it has served as our inspiration for holding another Tagore exhibition at the Government College of Art and Craft on the poet’s 150th birth anniversary,” says Dipali Bhattacharya, principal of the institution. Hence the exhibition of Tagore’s paintings, on the premises of the institution that will be opened at 11am on Sunday by the governor, M.K. Narayanan. It will include, besides, a letter to Victoria Ocampo, that was never posted, manuscripts and tributes from contemporary poets and artists both from Calcutta and Bangladesh.

Madhvi Parekh’s reverse paintings on acrylic of Christ are being exhibited in the magnificent St Thomas’ Chapel in Bishop’s College. At the opening, the interior was brilliantly lit with hundreds of candles, and instead of the paintings being hung on the walls, they were lined up against the walls of the chapel. Parekh presents Christ as a rather severe-looking man, as is common in many Orthodox churches. But the self-taught artist does not forget her roots. Christ is surrounded by birds and beasts and flowers of the field. Picture by Bishan Samaddar

Twenty-one of Tagore’s paintings will be displayed, three of which are from the collection of the Indian Museum. The rest are from the collection of Rani Mahalanobis, now with Jayanta Banerjee of Dhanbad. Two portraits of the poet by Abanindranath and Gaganendranath from the museum will also be displayed. The college has received Rs 20 lakh from the Bengal government to spruce up the exhibition space and has brought out a facsimile of the 1932 catalogue.

The poet’s Dark Ladies with their mysterious smile, flowers and landscapes are still luminous, the reds, greens, blue and browns of various shades highlighted by ochre and hasty strokes of the pen. As the 1932 review in The Statesman went: “Always it suggests haste — a dashing down as rapidly as possible of a thought before the vision fades.”

Among the contemporary artists, whose works will be displayed, are Jogen Choudhury, Ganesh Haloi, Ganesh Pyne and Jamini Roy. A large relief of the poet’s profile by Sunil Pal is among the exhibits. Among the participating poets are Sunil Gangopadhyay, Sankha Ghosh, Niren Chakrabarty and Nabaneeta Dev Sen. Seminars, music recitals and a poets’ meet will follow this rare exhibition of Rabindranath Tagore. Perhaps it will clear the misgivings in the public mind about his paintings. The exhibition is on till March 8.