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Born in Indore in 1910, Bendre was one of the most distinguished pioneers of modern Indian art. As a painter and teacher, he relentlessly experimented with the adaptation of the technical and stylistic innovations that were taking the European art world by storm to Indian themes and subjects. Through his career, he closely followed the development of Expressionism, Impressionism, Cubism, and Pointillism, interpreting their philosophical... Born in Indore in 1910, Bendre was one of the most distinguished pioneers of modern Indian art. As a painter and teacher, he relentlessly experimented with the adaptation of the technical and stylistic innovations that were taking the European art world by storm to Indian themes and subjects. Through his career, he closely followed the development of Expressionism, Impressionism, Cubism, and Pointillism, interpreting their philosophical underpinnings to fit his bucolic landscapes and tranquil images of rural life in India.

The present lot, a painting of a mother holding her infant child while another boy swings on a hammock by her side, is an masterful reflection of the artist's midcareer experiments with colour and figure. Returning to figuration after a brief period of abstraction when he painted works inspired by the Cubist canon, Bendre turned his focus to pastoral images of rural women in the throes of their daily tasks. Using a controlled palette and little if any chiaroscuro or perspective, Bendre painted these subjects bathing, weaving, playing music, reading, and looking after their children.

Like most of Bendre's idyllic vignettes of village women from this period, this canvas doesn't include much detailing, rather, it is relatively stylized. Bendre takes this minimalism a step further in this piece by eliminating most of the background details as well, focusing his viewer's full attention on the mother and her children.

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