Abanindranath was born in the creatively distinguished family of Tagores of Jorasanko in Kolkata. In his youth, Abanindranath received training in European and Academic style from European artists, Olinto Gilhardi and C.E.Palmer. But sometime during the last decade of the 19th century, he developed distaste for the corporeality of European naturalism. Coincidentally, about the same time he received an album of Mughal miniatures and a book of English poems illuminated in the Art Nouveau style. These influenced Abanindranath's visual ideas deeply. A third source of inspiration came from the visit of the Japanese philosopher and aesthetician Okakura Kakuzo to Kolkata in 1902. Okakura's visit led to the coming of the Japanese artists Taikan and Hishida in 1903. The two Japanese artists taught Abanindranath the wash technique which appealed to the artists' romanticism.

These various triggers led Abanindranath to evolve a distinctive visual language that was delicate, sensitive, dreamy and rich in atmosphere he synthesized in his paintings the Western and Eastern aesthetics. Although, Abanindranath painted a range of subjects, he had a leaning towards painting images with historic or literary allusions. He liked to paint sets of images dealing with a theme or a text such as the 'Arabian Nights' or the 'Krishna Leela'. He also enjoyed painting theatrical subjects.

Literature and drama held great respect for him and he was an elegant and accomplished writer. Towards his sunset years, he started making whimsical sculptures with found material like driftwood. The NGMA has a few of his these works.

From the manner in which this profile is executed, it appears to have been done in the last decade of the 19th century. Abanindranath at this time was training under European teachers Ghilardi and Palmer. Most of the works done at this time shows the influence of European techniques, such as in the application of light and shade. At this stage not much emphasis was given to facial expressions.