Jogen Chowdhury

Gifted by the artist to the previous owner in the 1970’s in Paris

Inherited from the above

There are light undulations and creases present across the surface of the paper as well as very minor abrasions only visible upon very close inspection. Small watermarks are present, most notably in the upper right corner and above the woman's head. Pinhole sized losses to the paint are also visible in the upper half of the painting, as viewed.
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Jogen Chowdhury is known and celebrated for his figurative ink and wash drawings, focusing on local tradition and popular culture, which were often satirical parodies of Bengali middle class society. Employing certain visual skills such as dark backgrounds and contorted facial features, he asks the viewer to focus purely on the central character, arousing a sense of human alienation. In this way, Chowdhury’s work echoes the loneliness prevalent in society. This current work employs his characteristic cross-hatching technique and black void background. The figure evokes a sense of sensuality but like many of the artist’s characters, her overall demeanour is enticing yet haunting.
Chowdhury's characters are representative of society at large and in this case the pensive, naked woman represents both vulnerability and weakness. He knits his figures into shape by interlocking and quivering lines. There is an amoebic quality to these works which are fluid in form, grotesque and misshapened. Disproportion emulates naturalness of the female form and here, it also carries traces of the subliminal imprint of life, inviting the viewer to seek comfort in her abundant motherly flesh. Her expression is stirring yet contemplative. The feeble and nonchalant woman may also be a self-reflection for the artist and is perhaps a fitting icon for the late 1970s, ‘a bitter period for many in India, particularly artists, who suffered chilling constraints on freedom of expression during the emergency' (Susan Bean, Midnight to the Boom: Painting in India after Independence, Thames and Hudson, London, 2013, p. 143).