Padmashree awardee Anjolie Ela Menon is among India’s leading modern artists and one of the earlier women artists to gain international recognition. Never afraid to experiment, her works have varied over the decades – in terms of medium, style and subject; so you cannot categorize her or put her in a box. In some of her works she uses recurring objects – like empty chairs, window frames, umbrellas, crows and the repetitiveness converts these everyday objects into symbols often depicting the themes of distance and loss.
In collaboration with the Piramal Museum of Art we bring you one such painting, which is untitled and was created in 1981. Scroll down to read more about the painting and Anjolie Ela Menon after you finish the puzzle.
Can you piece this masterpiece together?
Helpful Tips
# puzzle pieces might just be on top of each other – look carefully!
# make sure you have observed the painting before you start. In case you need to see the image again, scroll down or hit the picture icon on the bottom left
# hint: we found it easy to piece the windows together at the beginning – the crow is quite helpful!
# Share a screenshot of your finished piece with us using #MuseumJigsaw and tag @theheritagelab & @piramalmuseum on Instagram to be featured!
About the painting
Created in 1981, the painting is one of many which features the black crow. It is said that the black crow comes from Menon’s memory of the frequent visitor to her Mumbai-home’s balcony. Similarly, she took fancy to the shape of the window frame she bought for her Delhi-home, and ever since, windows have featured generously in her paintings. The child in the painting could have been drawn from memory of her grandchildren / the ones she occasionally spotted in and around Delhi’s Nizamuddin Basti where her studio is located.
Anjolie Ela Menon
From a young age, Menon had been exposed to art, literature, music. When it came to visual art, she admired the work and style of Amrita Shergil, M.F Husain, Modigliani. Dropping out of the J.J School of Art, she went on to study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris with a scholarship from the French Government. She travelled extensively before settling down in New Delhi.
Fun Fact: By the time she left school, Anjolie Ela Menon had already painted 40 canvases (and sold some of them too!)
Take a look at more paintings from the Piramal collection : on Instagram!