Sunil Madhav Sen (1910 - 1979)

Oil on Paper/Mixed Media on Paper

14 x 12.5/11 x 12 Inches

Signed Lower Left Verso

This head study, shows Sunil Madhav Sen’s distinctive approach to figuration, drawing from rural clay idols, village ritual masks, and Cubist modernism. Sen’s use of colour blocks and fractured planes recalls European Cubists like Picasso, whose African-inspired masks were an early influence. Yet this work with its earthy palette is deeply rooted in Sen’s memory of Bengal’s folk arts, especially the clay sculptors of Bankura he watched as a child. This work reflects his lifelong method: to reimagine local folk motifs through an international modernist lens.  

On the verso, a fluid ink drawing depicts a reclining female figure with a hare; a folk-like pairing rendered in loose, sweeping lines.