"Man is the centre of my universe, along with his emotions, his love, his social intercourse, his surroundings." (p. 63, N.S. Bendre, "My Painting", Bendre: The Painter and The Person, The Bendre Foundation for Art and Culture & Indus Corp., 1990). The portrayal of rural women, engaged in household or creative tasks, is a familiar motif in Bendre`s oeuvre. In this painting, the two women are involved in filling pots of water...
"Man is the centre of my universe, along with his emotions, his love, his social intercourse, his surroundings." (p. 63, N.S. Bendre, "My Painting", Bendre: The Painter and The Person, The Bendre Foundation for Art and Culture & Indus Corp., 1990). The portrayal of rural women, engaged in household or creative tasks, is a familiar motif in Bendre`s oeuvre. In this painting, the two women are involved in filling pots of water for domestic purposes and their postures suggest that an intimate conversation is in progress.
The muted tones of the painting lend a tranquil air to the scene and Bendre`s use of flat planes of earthy color to delineate both the rural folk and the surrounding landscape serves to emphasize the harmony of the women with the natural environment. However, with deliberate irony, the women`s figures acquire a monumental stature through this two-dimensional stylization of their forms. They dominate the foreground of the painting. Consequently, in a manner that is typical of Bendre, the women are shown to be simultaneously at one with nature and in control of it.