Answer: Paul Gauguin
Explanation: Amrita Sher-Gil drew parallels between the miniature traditions of north India and the modern art of Paul Gauguin, whom she admired.
Amrita Sher-Gil painted Haldi Grinder in 1940. This was the time when she was seeking inspiration from India’s idyllic rural scene. Such a scene, depicting Indian women busy in a traditional activity of grinding dry turmeric, had to be painted in Indian style. It is not surprising that she used bright, saturated pigments to paint this work. Given her training in modern art in Europe, she was quick to see parallels between miniature traditions of north India and modern art of Paul Gaugin, an artist she admired. This is evident in the way she has placed bright colour patches close to each other and created shapes of figures by colour contrast and not outline. Such a style of painting reminds us of, as for instance, the Basohli paintings from north India. The women and trees are painted as flat shapes. Sher-Gil is not interested in creating any depth in the landscape and prefers a semi-abstract pattern as a modern artist. |
