At sixty, Rabindranath Tagore took up drawing and painting; successful exhibitions of his many works—which made a debut appearance in Paris upon encouragement by artists he met in the south of France -- were held throughout Europe. Tagore was influenced by scrimshaw from northern New Ireland, Haida carvings from British Columbia and woodcuts by Max Pechstein. His artist's eye for his handwriting was revealed in the simple artistic and rhythmic leitmotifs embellishing the scribbles, cross-outs, and word layouts of his manuscripts.