The Cage

A. Ramachandran painted The Cage at a time when he was profoundly affected by India's first nuclear test explosion at Pokhran in Rajasthan in 1974 which led him to paint a series of five works called Nuclear Raginis. The Cage also bears the marks of the event and its lasting impression on the artist’s psyche and palette. Writing about this painting, R. Siva Kumar noted, “The black hole of the face turned into a perfect triangle formed by the veil becomes the nucleus of an approaching transmutation, and as soon as we pick up these signs the bodies at rest suddenly become alert and appear to be looking askance at the world around.” (R. Siva Kumar, A. Ramachandran: A. Retrospective, Volume I, New Delhi, 2003, pp. 69-70)