Exhi­bi­ti­on texts English

Amrita Sher-Gil looks directly at you: self-aware and confident. At the beginning of the twentieth century, this was unusual. Women were often depicted in a traditional manner, as supporting figures in narratives in which men played the leading role, without visible emotion or individual personality. Sher-Gil challenged these conventions. Moreover, she portrayed herself wearing a sari, thereby emphasising her identity.  

Self-Portrait  

Paris, circa 1930  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  
 

‘This early work by Henri Matisse is a subtle precursor to his later Fauvist paintings. It is composed of adjacent brushstrokes of colour without clear outlines, with even the shadows built up from colour. Ten years later, he painted in vivid colours and simplified forms. The painting was donated to the museum in 1949 by Louise de Graaff-Bachiene.’  

Henri Matisse (1869-1954)  

Nature morte avec livres (Still Life with Books), circa 1895  

Oil on canvas  

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (on loan Stichting Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. gift Louise de Graaff-Bachiene)  

Sandra Kisters, Director of Collections and research Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen 

Georges Braque (1882-1963)  

Still life with wine and grapes, 1929  

Oil on canvas  

Kunstmuseum Den Haag  

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)  

Sibylle, 1921  

Oil on canvas  

Kunstmuseum Den Haag  

‘Europe belongs to Picasso, Matisse, and Braque and many others. India belongs only to me.’ Amrita Sher-Gil wrote this in 1938. She is referring here to the great European artists she studied whilst in Paris. At the same time, she is looking ahead and ‘claiming’ India, where her future as an artist lies.’  

Annemiek Rens, chief curator Drents Museum  

During her studies in Paris, Amrita Sher-Gil produced numerous self-portraits. She experimented with depicting different poses, emotions and clothing styles. She also explored her materials: at times applying paint thickly, at others working with a more restrained technique. Sher-Gil alternated soft, rounded forms with angular, expressive lines and planes. With each self-portrait, she appeared to test new possibilities and was actively engaged in exploring her identity as an artist.  

Self-Portrait  

Paris, circa 1930  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Self-Portrait  

Paris, circa 1932  

Oil on paper  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  
 

Self-Portrait  

Paris, circa 1930  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi 
 

Self-Portrait  

Paris, circa 1930  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  
 

Amrita Sher-Gil’s sister Indira posed for this painting, which features a striking composition. Sher-Gil opts for a strong diagonal and leaves the lower legs and one elbow out of the picture. The pink scarf draws attention, while the undulating dragon depicted on it mirrors the form of Indira’s body. Perhaps Amrita Sher-Gil saw in her sister qualities reminiscent of a mythical dragon.  

Sleep  

Paris, 1933  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

In the 1930s, it was unusual to ask women of social standing to pose as nude models. Sher-Gil succeeded; family members and friends posed for her regularly. This is a portrait of Baba, Viola Egan, a cousin and the sister of her future husband. Viola is depicted as strong and relaxed. Her head rests on her hand, and she looks confidently straight ahead.  

Nude  

Hungary, 1933  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

This is Anna Taslitzky, a Jewish woman of Russian origin. Amrita Sher-Gil was close friends with her son, Boris, whom she frequently portrayed, and she also painted a portrait of his mother. Mrs Taslitzky appears despondent: her shoulders slump, and her eyes carry a vacant expression. Sher-Gil reinforced the melancholic atmosphere through the use of heavy, downward-sweeping lines and a palette of muted colours.  

Madam Taslitzky  

Paris, circa 1930  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Boris Taslitzky posed three times for his classmate. Throughout this period, he was utterly infatuated with her. Later in life, he recalled: ‘I met her in 1930 at the Beaux Arts where I was a student. When she entered there was an enormous silence, because she had a great presence. I was surprised at how well she painted even at that age.’ For a brief time, Taslitzky and Sher-Gil had a relationship, which ended when she revealed that she was in love with her Hungarian cousin.  

Young Man with Apples  

Paris, 1932  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Amrita Sher-Gil painted many people from her immediate circle. Yusuf Ali Khan came from an aristocratic North Indian family. Sher-Gil’s mother considered him the ideal son-in-law, and eventually her daughter agreed to an engagement. It did not last long. Sher-Gil wrote to her mother: 'You write that it pains you to learn that Yusuf and I “don’t understand each other well any more”. Haven’t I always asserted in Paris that we do not ever agree on anything?’  

Yusuf Ali Khan  

Paris, 1931  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

In Paris, Amrita Sher-Gil often discussed her work with the art critic Denise Proutaux. They also decided together which paintings Sher-Gil would submit for exhibitions. Proutaux frequently posed for her close friend, although Sher-Gil was not pleased with this work. She wrote to her mother: ‘It is quite a well done picture but without an idea, without any imagination. But it doesn’t matter, I had to pass through such a phase. It led me to this new road. And this picture would be good enough for Denise.’  

Denise Proutaux  

Paris, 1932  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

During her studies, Amrita Sher-Gil shared a studio with Marie-Louise Chassany. Their friendship gave rise to rumours of a romantic relationship. Among artists in Paris, there was considerable freedom to experiment with gender, relationships and sexuality. Sher-Gil considered the possibility of a relationship with a woman, but her connection with Chassany remained strictly a friendship. Marie-Louise avoided the subject and Sher-Gil found her difficult to understand. She wrote to her mother: ‘I have never had any sexual relation with Marie-Louise, and will not have one either.’  

Marie-Louise Chassany  

Paris, 1932  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Still Life  

Paris, circa 1932  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Still Life  

Paris, circa 1932  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Between 1930 and 1932, Amrita Sher-Gil appeared tireless. Over the course of these two years, she produced at least sixty paintings and hundreds of drawings. In a letter, she wrote: ‘These days I am painting a view from the top of the Notre Dame. Tomorrow I shall paint in the interior of the Notre Dame and so I will not even be able to return home for lunch. From 6 o’clock until there is light I am painting a nude of Indu. You see, I work like a madman, no time even to think.’  

Notre-Dame  

Paris, June 1932  

Oil on canvas on panel  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

The first time Amrita Sher-Gil took part in the sketch competition organised by her teacher Lucien Simon, she won immediately. A week later, Simon chose ‘The Original Sin of Adam and Eve’ as the theme for the competition. Sher-Gil decided to experiment extensively with contrasts of light and dark and colour. She submitted this painting but did not win a prize.  

Adam and Eve  

Paris, circa 1932  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Grapes  

Hungary, circa 1934  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Vine  

Hungary, 1934  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi 

Amrita Sher-Gil had a close relationship with her cousin, Sumair. She noted: ‘She is amusing and “vivacious”, attractive and very good as a model. I have started a large nude of her.’ Nothing is known about the girls. The painting recalls the work of the French artist Paul Gauguin. Sher-Gil was inspired by his work, but she conveys a gentle and harmonious sensuality that could only have been rendered by a woman.  

Nude Group  

Saraya (India), March 1935  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Woman Holding Fan  

Simla (India), July 1935  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi 

Exhibiting at the Salon de Paris and winning a prize greatly increased an artist’s chances of achieving success. Amrita Sher-Gil accomplished this in 1933. This painting was honoured with a prize at the Grand Salon, making her the youngest artist to receive a gold medal and the first of Indian descent. The prize also granted Sher-Gil membership, allowing her to exhibit at the Salon. The women depicted in this intimate and atmospheric painting are her sister Indira and, seated in the armchair, her friend Denise.  

Young Girls  

Paris, June 1932  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

When the Sher-Gil family was living in Paris, Sumair was also there. She was Amrita’s cousin and worked as a model for the renowned Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. Amrita Sher-Gil and her cousin got along well and both led adventurous lives. In 1936, they are both back in India. Sumair posed for this almost regal portrait. Sher-Gil employed the earthy colours that became characteristic of her Indian work.  

Sumair  

Saraya (India), 1936  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Two Women  

Saraya (India), circa 1935  

Oil on canvas on board  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Shortly after her arrival in India in December 1934, Sher-Gil described ‘ordinary’ Indians as ‘dark, incredibly thin men and women with sorrowful faces, moving silently, almost like apparitions, and governed by a melancholy that is difficult to define.’ This sense of sadness emerges clearly in this painting, particularly in the poses of the figures and the woman’s large eyes. The composition echoes traditional representations of the Madonna and Child.  

Mother India  

Simla (India), June 1935  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

This was one of the first works Amrita Sher-Gil painted after returning to India following her studies in Paris. In keeping with her new surroundings, she uses earthly colours. She portrayed the sisters Niveer, Beant and Harbhajan Kaur in calm, restrained poses. The girls gaze seriously ahead, giving an inward-looking impression. Sher-Gil was satisfied with the result: she seemed to have grasped something that would come to define her art. This marked the way in which she would go on to portray her Indian compatriots.  

Three Girls  

Amritsar (India), January 1935  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi       

From 1938, Sher-Gil sought a new way to depict life in India. She no longer always gives people the leading role in her works. This is evident in her description of the painting: ‘A hill scene, green hill sides, green upon green. Rhododendron trees with stiff scarlet flowers and a row of figures advancing towards the spectator. Little women in brilliant colours like parrots. In fact there is something bird-like about them. Comical little profiles and small thin legs.’  

Hill Scene  

Simla (India), March 1938

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Sher-Gil described this painting as ‘the landscape with the pines and one little figure.’ As in miniature painting, she suggested spatial depth by stacking layers. She also used cropping, which was unusual in miniature art. The large planes of colour are striking. Seen through your eyelashes, the work could almost be seen as an abstract composition. Here, Amrita Sher-Gil fused classical Indian and European modern art.  

Hill Side  

Simla (India), June 1938  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi 

From 1937, Amrita Sher-Gil travelled extensively across India, actively seeking out traditional art forms. She also discovered Indian miniature painting: small, highly detailed works dating from roughly 500 to 200 years ago. In miniature painting, a story is told from multiple viewpoints, a method Sher-Gil applied in this painting. She wrote of it: ‘The figures in this one are like gems studded on an ochre foreground and a gleaming background afforded by the white walls of the houses.’  

Siesta  

Simla (India), October 1937  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Two Mendicants  

Simla (India), circa 1937  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  
 

In this painting, the focus is on skin tones and colour contrasts. Sher-Gil explained: ‘There is a definite emphasis on the varied flesh tints – very dark & greenish brown on the figure in the lower left corner. Definitely Red Ochre for the little girl – a greenish raw Sienna for the woman holding her & a more yellow raw Sienna for the figure in the background. The marriage marks & flower a brilliant orangish vermillion.’  

Women in Red  

Saraya (India), March 1938  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Village Girls  

Saraya (India), August 1941  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Pencil Sketch  

Undated  

Pencil on paper  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi 

Pencil Sketch  

Undated  

Pencil on paper  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Amrita Sher-Gil’s cousin Teji posed for this bathing woman. She sits on a low footstool, holding a jug with which she can pour water over herself. Beside her is likely a small bowl containing alta, the traditional red dye with which in particular women decorate their hands and feet. This decoration is an important aspect of Indian culture. Sher-Gil captured an everyday yet intimate ritual. The work, aided by her use of warm colours, could even be described as sensuous.  

Woman at Bath  

Saraya (India), 1940  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

During a journey through southern India, Amrita Sher-Gil visited the Ajanta caves. She encountered walls covered with ancient paintings in which groups of figures together told a story. These murals inspired her to create her own version. She depicted a bride just before her wedding. Two women attended to her hair and make-up, while children looked on. Sher-Gil used a limited colour palette. The warm earthy tones and muted colours linked the figures and reinforced the painting’s restrained atmosphere.  

Bride’s Toilet  

Simla (India), April 1937  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Musicians  

Saraya (India), December 1940  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Bride  

Saraya (India), 1940  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Is this young woman lost in thought or fully focused? She peels a potato with hands redder than her face. Amrita Sher-Gil painted this work during her stay in the Hungarian town of Kiskunhalas. Despite the ordinary subject, she managed to convey a sense of timelessness. She simplified forms and colours so that the woman becomes a silhouette of light and dark patches against a green background.  

The Potato Peeler  

Kiskunhalas (Hungary), November 1938  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

‘I have painted a snow landscape, white with bare trees, railway lines & telegraph posts in black, almost drawn,’ Amrita Sher-Gil wrote. The winter landscape provided the perfect opportunity for her to experiment with contrasts of light and dark. Her Hungarian contemporary István Szőnyi influenced her approach. Like Sher-Gil, he frequently used white paint to illuminate certain areas of a work like a flash of lightning.  

Winter  

Zebegény (Hungary),  January 1939  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Crosses in a variety of colours, a few flowers and a lantern seem to dance across the canvas. Behind them, figures in black robes walk past white buildings. The cheerful manner in which Amrita Sher-Gil painted this village cemetery in Zebegény, Hungary, is remarkable. The shapes and colours of the site provided her with a playful setting for the composition.  

Merry Cemetery  

Zebegény (Hungary), 1939  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Haldi (turmeric) Grinders  

Saraya (India), circa 1940  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

Resting  

Simla (India), November 1939  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi 

Village Girls  

Saraya (India), August 1941  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi 

‘I have done a couple of good things – Teji on a swing with women around her, very Rajput in feeling, lovely reds & greens,’ Amrita Sher-Gil wrote of this painting. She drew her inspiration primarily from centuries-old Rajput miniatures and submitted the work to an exhibition in Bombay. A critic commented on the background, and Sher-Gil was aware that it was not well executed: ‘My sense of form on the other hand is only developing now, & still has a strong tendency to evade me. It very often happens that I grasp it only for a short period & only sections of my pictures are good as a consequence.’  

The Swing  

Saraya (India), February 1940  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

‘I have just finished a picture – a girl in red-flowered clothes is reclining on a charpai, its posts of an incandescent red rise round her like tongues of flame,’ Sher-Gil wrote of this work. She spent much time on the family estate in Saraya in the company of women. She observed that the luxurious lifestyle stifled them and that their talents and knowledge were insufficiently utilised. In this painting, she depicted one such young woman.  

Woman on Charpai  

Saraya (India), June 1940  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

In the South Indian port town of Mahabalipuram, Amrita Sher-Gil studied sculptures carved into the rocks. A number of enormous elephants caught her attention. They were likely the inspiration for this painting, in which two animals search for food in the forest. They occupy almost the entire canvas. Sher-Gil found elephants fascinating and made several sketches of them.  

Elephants  

Saraya (India), March 1940  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

‘I am beginning to get interested in animals. I am working just now on a canvas with camels. Very amusing. There is a curious rose coloured Indian saddle on one of the animals which I find exceedingly lovely,’ Amrita Sher-Gil wrote. Not only is the saddle eye-catching, but so too are the straps with sparkling beads around the neck of the reclining camel. Sher-Gil painted the beads by applying small dots of paint directly from the tube. This technique reflects the traditional miniature painting she admired so greatly.  

Camels  

Saraya (India), September 1941  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi  

In 1941, Amrita Sher-Gil moved with her husband Victor Egan to Lahore. From her studio, she looked out onto a courtyard with mud houses and the buffaloes of the milkman. This setting became the backdrop for the only painting she produced in the bustling, culturally rich city — and her final work. In the composition, she pushed the boundaries of space and form, producing a result that is almost abstract. Shortly before her sudden death, Sher-Gil seemed to have discovered a new visual language that was both modern and authentically Indian.  

The Last Unfinished Picture  

Lahore (India), November 1941  

Oil on canvas  

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi