Page 411 - Manifest September 2024

Lot No. 240

ANJOLIE ELA MENON

b. 1940
UNTITLED
33.5 x 53.3 in (85 x 136 cm)
Oil on masonite with carved wood jharokha
Signed: Bottom Left & Right
` 40,00,000 - 60,00,000 | $ 48,780 - 73,171
Provenance: Property from a collection based in New Delhi

Used as both an ‘objet trouvé’ and a recurring motif in
her paintings, the window holds great significance in
Anjolie Ela Menon’s artistic career. While the discovery
of using the window as part of a mixed media work was
accidental, this has become a signature for Menon with
the subjects being spotted within the frame of the window
staring out into the world. The utilisation of windows in
her works helps audiences peek into the myriad lives
that she paints.
This also led her to working with jharokhas and
naukhanas. Jharokhas, a form of jutting stone windows
and concealed balconies often seen in palaces in
Rajasthan went on to inspire decorative wooden frames
used in houses to frame pictures. In Menon’s case, they
would house her paintings. Many of her paintings would
feature women depicted trapped within these enclosed
spaces, onlookers to the outside world.