Amrita Sher-Gil ​‘Europe belongs to Picasso, India belongs to me’

‘Europe belongs to Picasso, Matisse, Braque, and many others. India belongs only to me.’ With these words, Amrita Sher-Gil (1913–1941) described her unique position in the art world. She is regarded as the founder of modern Indian art.

From 22 March 2026, the Drents Museum will present paintings and drawings by the Hungarian-Indian Amrita Sher-Gil (Budapest 1913 – Lahore 1941). She lived only 28 years, but left behind an impressive and influential body of work. Yet outside of India, Amrita Sher-Gil is still relatively unknown to the general public. This may also be due to the fact that her work has very rarely left India. The last time her art was shown in Europe was nearly twenty years ago.

India was her father’s country; Hungary was her mother’s. Amrita Sher-Gil was born in Budapest in 1913 and grew up between two cultures. From an early age, she proved herself to be creative, free-spirited and independent. She took drawing and painting lessons and began pushing boundaries at a young age. In 1924, she briefly attended art school in Florence, where she became acquainted with the Italian masters, but she was almost expelled for drawing nude portraits.

In 1929, Sher-Gil left with her family for Paris to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and later at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts. There, she immersed herself in the work of modern artists such as Suzanne Valadon, Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin. She painted numerous self-portraits, as well as friends, scenes of Parisian life and still lifes. Her talent did not go unnoticed: in 1933, she won the gold medal at the Salon de Paris with her painting Young Girls. She was also elected a member of this prestigious society – the youngest artist ever to receive this honour and the first of Asian descent. In Paris, she developed into a cosmopolitan painter who effortlessly connected different worlds.

In 1934, Amrita Sher-Gil returned to India, convinced that her destiny lay there. She built upon European painting traditions, enriching them with elements from traditional Indian art. She exchanged her European clothes for saris and travelled across the country. She found inspiration in, among other things, the cave paintings of Ajanta, Mughal miniatures, and everyday life in markets and villages. Her colour palette changed dramatically: vivid reds, earthy browns and warm ochres reflect the Indian light and landscape. In her work, she introduced a new and powerful image of womanhood and gave a voice to India’s poor and marginalised communities.

Amrita Sher-Gil – ‘Europe Belongs to Picasso, India Belongs to Me brings together paintings and drawings on loan from the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, which holds the largest and most comprehensive collection of her work. The exhibition traces her development, from her Parisian period to the works in which she captures the strength and beauty of everyday life in India.

Her paintings are regarded as national treasures and therefore rarely leave India. This exhibition offers a unique opportunity to view her masterpieces up close.