For the indian people, Amrita Sher-Gil is a legend, a symbol. Born in Budapest in the early years of the Great War (1913), died in Lahore, in the winter of 1941/1942, at age 28. From Delhi to Bombay, to Lahore, and for artists of the Indian Diaspora throughout the work, she remains an emblem, a memory. Her charisma, sometimes compared to that of the mexican artist Frida Khalo, situated her at the origin of Indian modernity. Like Nehru (one of her friends), Tagore, Iqbal Singh and Satyainyint Ray, she provided, in her field, the Indian sub-continent with a part of its modernity. Amrita Sher-Gil was not only a product of Indian or Punjabi socio-cultural milieu. All her paintings portray incredibility thin, emaciated starving men and women. All the figures she painted, especially those of women, have lackluster eyes, an expression of resignation and despondency writ large on their faces.
Casalino Pierluigi, London, on Dec. 25th 2013