Anjolie Ela Menon is among the artists who
contributed most significantly to infusing Indian art with modernity. In the 1960s,
she gave a new direction to her artistic journey by creating paintings that
prioritized the female existence. The artistic environments of Mumbai—and
subsequently Paris—honed the artist within her and gave it a distinct
direction. She placed the utmost value on creative freedom in art.
We cannot deny the significant role of women artists in contemporary Indian art. There was a
time when people believed that fields like painting and sculpture were exclusively for men. In the last century, Amrita Sher-Gil was the first woman artist who
not only established her identity in this field within the country but also
gained recognition at the international level. Furthermore, Amrita Sher-Gil had a significant influence on numerous contemporaries and subsequent painters. Anjolie Ela Menon's work also reflects her influence.
Anjolie Ela
Menon, Devyani Krishna, Arpita Singh, Arpana Caur, Gogi Saroj Pal, Rekha
Rodwittiya, Bulbul Sharma, Kanchan Chander, and many other women artists not
only challenged the long-standing male dominance in the field of art but also
established themselves firmly. Among them, if Anjolie Ela Menon is considered a
leading figure, it is because, over her more than six-decade-long artistic
career, she has consistently proven herself in terms of subject matter,
technique, and experimentation. She still regards her first painting, Head, created at around the
age of seventeen, as a foundational example for herself.
Born in 1940,
Anjolie Ela Menon received her first formal training in art at the age of
sixteen at Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai. The structure of education there
was entirely British, but through exhibitions she saw outside the school, she
became acquainted with authentic Indian art. It was there that she first saw
the works of M.F. Husain and Mohan Samant, both of whom, she openly admits,
greatly influenced her. According to her, at one point, Husain’s bold black
lines and flat surfaces influenced her so much that she began to follow
them—though her themes remained different. She had to leave Sir J.J. School
after just six months.
At the age of
eighteen, the paintings she created had a strong sense of romanticism, partly
due to the influence of Amrita Sher-Gil, which she herself acknowledges. In her
first exhibition, she displayed 53 paintings in various styles. However, when
she went to Paris to study art, the direction of her work changed completely. A
vast new world of ideas and perspectives opened before her. People often claim that Western art heavily influences her work. This claim is true to some
extent, as her real artistic journey began after her studies in Paris. However,
it is important to note that, although her technique may reflect Western influences, the soul of her work remains Indian.
This is why,
when she seeks to connect her art with Indian identity, she incorporates not
only Indian themes but also elements of calendar art, which she considers
entirely Indian and contemporary. She expresses concern that whenever we discuss indigenous art, we tend to look only to the past—Ajanta or miniature
painting—while ignoring the art around us, such as calendar art or the
paintings on rickshaws, buses, and trucks. She paid attention to these forms
and incorporated their elements into her work, giving them new and contemporary
meanings.
At the age of
twenty, Menon went to Paris for further study, where she was influenced by
European Impressionism as well as church art based on Christianity. There, she
established a dialogue with Western art. After returning, her artistic identity
reflected Western techniques combined with Indian themes. Much later, she again
turned toward the West, going to Murano, where she worked on glass art for two
to three years. Even then, she remained rooted in Indian themes, painting
subjects like the Shiva lingam and Krishna.
Anjolie Ela
Menon never separates her art from her personal world. In her early paintings,
windows and crows frequently appear, reflecting memories of her life in Mumbai.
According to her, crows were a common sight in Mumbai but not in Delhi. The
subjects in her later works also remained closely connected to her personal
experiences. Therefore, it would not be wrong to describe her art as a
pictorial autobiography.
Menon should be
regarded as a bold painter because she depicted the nude form at a time when
such representation was not expected, especially from a woman artist. Perhaps
this is because she does not accept any form of gender discrimination in art.
She does not like being labelled a "woman artist." She argues that if male
painters are not called “male artists," then why should women be labelled differently? Similarly, she rejects any notion of competition in art. According
to her, art is not a 100-meter race where someone comes first and someone else comes second.
In fact,
Anjolie Ela Menon wishes to be acknowledged solely as an artist. This reflects
the aspiration of a true artist—one whose work has established a distinct
identity not only in India but also abroad. She is among the most expensive
women artists in the country, with her paintings valued in lakhs and crores.
International auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s, as well as India’s
Saffronart, regularly include her works in their auctions. International galleries also host her exhibitions. Having conducted around thirty solo and numerous
group exhibitions, her artistic journey shows no sign of rest. Believing that
dissatisfaction is the basis of growth, she continues to strive for new
creations. A few years ago, reports of the sale of counterfeit versions of her paintings confirmed her immense popularity.
In her art,
Anjolie Ela Menon consistently addresses the social position of women. In her
paintings, she portrays women’s status in contrast to male dominance in various
ways. She also explores themes of loneliness and the lives of elderly women
within families. Most of the women depicted in her works belong to the working and
middle classes. She has no shortage of subjects—ranging from various narratives
to depictions of deities, as well as works centred on Christ. She has also
created unique social imagery through subjects like old windows and doors.
*All images have been sourced from Google and private collections. The author holds no rights to these images; they are used solely as a reference to understand the artist's work.
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