AMRITA SHER-GIL

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Context:  The National Gallery of Modern Art, Ministry of Culture, Government of India in association with Liszt Institute, Hungarian Cultural Centre, New Delhi is celebrating the 110th birth anniversary of Amrita Sher-Gil.

Details:

Fact Sheet:

• Date of Birth:January 30, 1913
• Place of Birth:Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary
• Profession:Painter
• Periods: Modern art, Post-Impressionism

About:

• Often referred to as India's Frida Kahlo for aesthetically blending traditional and Western art forms, Amrita Sher-Gil was one of the most famous painters of India.
• She is also considered as a revolutionary woman artist and the originator of modern art in India.
• Though her artworks mainly depicted Western style and culture during the initial stages of her career, the painter gradually began to rediscover herself by depicting Indian subjects using traditional methods.
• Apart from painting, she was also well-versed in playing piano and fond of reading.
• During the initial stages of her career, Amrita’s works deeply reflected her Western influence and her technique was similar to the paintings that were practiced in the Bohemian circles.
• Around this time, she created ‘Young Girls’, which gained wide recognition and appreciation. 
• Amrita Sher-Gil returned to India in the year 1934 and began her never-ending journey of trying to decode the traditions of Indian art. She was influenced by the Mughal as well as the Ajanta paintings.
• In 1937, she began her journey to the southern parts India and was deeply moved by the plight of many villagers and unprivileged people. This started reflecting in her works and eventually gave rise to paintings such as ‘Brahmacharis’, ‘Bride's Toilet’ and ‘South Indian Villagers Going to Market’. 
• Among her works during this phase of her life, the best ones were ‘Siesta’, ‘Village Scene’ and ‘In the Ladies' Enclosure’, all of which represented the poor state of the unprivileged and women in the country.
• In 1941, she moved to Lahore (undivided India), where art was being appreciated at that time. There she came up with marvelous paintings such as ‘The Bride’, ‘Tahitian’, ‘Red Brick House’ and ‘Hill Scene’.

Legacy:

• Amrita Sher-Gil is often considered as the pioneer of modern art in the country as her works influenced and inspired a number of modern day greats.
• India Post released a stamp of her painting 'Hill Women' in the year 1978.
• There is a road named after the painter in Lutyen's Delhi, known as the Amrita Shergil Marg.
• Budapest’s Indian cultural center has been named after her.
• In 2013, the 100th anniversary of her birth was declared as the international year of Amrita Sher-Gil by UNESCO. Many plays and novels including Salman Rushdie's ‘The Moor's Last Sigh’ were inspired by her.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1895112