Untitled (Seated Lady)

Anjolie Menon held her first solo exhibition in 1958 in New Delhi, organized by none other than MF Husain. Originally inspired by the medieval sculptures of the Madonna, Menon has explored many variations of the female nude throughout her 50 year career. In the 1970s, "Slowly the image of the Madonna [...] began to coalesce with the nude, so semi-nude figures exposing a single breast had echoes of medieval mothers suckling their God children. These could have been Mary or Yashoda." (Isana Murti, Anjolie Ela Menon: Through the Patina, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2010, p. 130)