Amrita Sher Gil (30 January 1913 to 5 December 1941) was a Hungarian Indian painter. She has been called one of the greatest avant garde women artists of the early 20th century and a pioneer in modern Indian art.

What's so special about this painting?

Boris Taslitzky, painted in 1930, is characterised by a fiery contrast between her bold mark making and vibrancy of colour. He sits with his sleeves rolled up, dark locks framing his face and full red lips, with a calm, melancholic expression.

Love in the Shadow of War:

Sher-Gil, aged sixteen, moved to Paris with her family. Already well-established as an artist in Budapest, Hungary by this time, she joined the studio of the French painter Lucian Simon at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. It was here that she first met Taslitzky, a fellow student at the studio, two years her senior.

Their shared love for art instantly brought them together. Taslitzky's memoirs from 1959 reveal Sher-Gil being his first passionate love.

Reciprocally, Taslitzky also painted a few portraits of Sher-Gil that capture her confident and graceful demeanour.

Their relationship would eventually come to a tragic end in 1932. During this time, France faced an economic collapse, rampant corruption and the rise of fascism. Taslitzky left Simon's studio and became a militant artist, documenting riot scenes on the streets. With the worsening conditions in Europe, Amrita left for India.