Page 112 - Historic-Masterpieces-Dec24

Lot No. 57
ANJOLIE ELA MENON

b. 1940

UNTITLED
46.5 x 35 in (118 x 89 cm)
Oil on masonite board
Signed: Top Left

` 30,00,000 - 40,00,000 | $ 37,037 - 49,383

Provenance: Property from a collection based in Mumbai

Anjolie Ela Menon, a pioneering Indian artist, has
continuously redefined her creative journey over her
extensive career. Renowned for her emotive and deeply
personal works, Menon’s early art displayed influences
from Western masters like van Gogh and Modigliani,
as well as Indian luminaries like Amrita Sher-Gil and
M F Husain. Her initial portraits featured vivid colours
and bold outlines, reflecting youthful exuberance.
Over time, her style matured, adopting a subtler,
introspective palette inspired by medieval Christian
art during her studies at Paris’s École des Beaux-Arts.
Menon’s distinctive technique involves layering
translucent oil glazes on hardboard, creating a
burnished, icon-like glow.

Her compositions often explore themes of isolation,
nostalgia, and the passage of time symbolised through
recurring motifs like crows, chairs, and windows.
Rejecting easy categorisation, Menon’s works blur the
lines between narrative and abstraction, embracing
vulnerability and sensuality.