Important Notice

Following his involvement with the struggle for Indian independence, his complex depictions of its events, and a short period of painting still life, Ara turned to the classical modernist form of the nude in the 1960s. For Ara, the nude was not overtly sexual or even attractive, but "just another device to study paint textures as a means of extending his painterly language....He was not involved with the anatomy of the figure nor with forms of... Following his involvement with the struggle for Indian independence, his complex depictions of its events, and a short period of painting still life, Ara turned to the classical modernist form of the nude in the 1960s. For Ara, the nude was not overtly sexual or even attractive, but "just another device to study paint textures as a means of extending his painterly language....He was not involved with the anatomy of the figure nor with forms of realism." (Yashodhara Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, Oxford University Press, 2001, pgs. 138, 139).

The subjects of these paintings, like the woman portrayed in the present lot, usually had their backs to the viewer. "It is characteristic of Ara that the nude, whose bodily contours are prominently outlined, has her back to the viewer and maintains an impassive quality that draws from the still life" (Gayatri Sinha, Modern Indian Works on Paper, J. V. Zimmerli Art Museum Exhibition Catalogue, New Jersey, 2006, pg. 12). What sets Ara's oeuvre apart from that of other Indian artists is his vision of the female nude and the solitariness that lets the viewer focus on the emotion of the piece - a sophistication that belies Ara's lack of formal art training. His nudes appear lonely, detached, and here lies the allure of his works.

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