Lot 57: AMRITA SHER-GIL, 1913 - 1941 STUDY OF HORSES

Amrita Sher-Gil, 1913 - 1941
Study of Horses
Amrita Sher-Gil was born in Budapest in 1913 to a Hungarian mother and a Sikh father. Her eary childhood was spent for the most part in Hungary, but in 1921 the family moved to India where she began her schooling. At sixteen, Amrita returned to Europe where she was admitted to the Ecole Nationals des Beaux Arts in Paris. She returned to India a few years later where she continued to live and work until her untimely and tragic death in 1941. 

Sher-Gil's animal studies were done in the last years of her life, including several sketches done when returned to Saraya in 1941, the small village in Uttar Pradesh where she would spend many hours drawing. In a letter written in August 1941 from Saraya, she talks about 'drawing animals like one possessed - camels, horses and elephants.' (Amrita Sher-Gil in a letter dated 29 August 1941 to Helen Chamanlal from Saraya, mentioned in Yashodhara Dalmia, Amrita Sher-Gil: A Life, New Delhi, 2006, p. 165.) 

The present work is probably from her last sketchbook done at this time, in which there are countless sketches of animals done in a style that was true to her academic European training. While horses appeared often, the inclusion of a crow as seen as seen here is much rarer. 'The drawings in her last sketchbook show careful observation of the animals both from the front and the posterior... She seemed to delight in their animal strength and volume, but she also included some expressive faces, particularly those of the camels. The sketches, despite the meticulousness of her efforts, were made in smooth, easy strokes, often in one sweep...' (ibid)

These sketches of animals culminated in the creation of the two last canvases she would paint before her death. The first is Camels, and the second is an unfinished canvas showing four buffaloes in a village setting. The animal paintings are considered path breaking for her by several art historians including Karl Khandalavala, the only one she considered worthy enough to critique her work. The last image in this sketchbook is, ironically, of a funeral pyre, as if Sher-Gil had a premonition of the tragedy that was to come.

Many of her best known works from an integral part of the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi and a few works remain in private hands, making sketches like the current example exceptionally rare. 

Initialled 'A S-G' in reverse

10 5/8 x 6 5/8 in. (26.9 x 16.7 cm.)

Pencil on paper

Chatterjee & Lal Mumbai 'Amrita Sher-Gil: Icon Works and Memorabilia from her Last Years 6 - 20th April 2004

For comparable sketches from the same sketchbook please see Yashodhara Dalmia Amrita Sher-Gil: A Life New Delhi 2006 inside front and back covers.

Published : Chatterjee & Lal and Aditya Ruia 'Amrita Sher-Gil: Icon Works and Memorabilia from her Last Years 6-20th April 2004 illustrated.

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