Anjolie Ela Menon

Born 1940 in Burnpur, West Bengal, India
Lives and works in New Delhi, India.

Throughout her six-decade-long career, Anjolie Ela Menon has cemented her status as a pioneering figurative painter, working in defiance of the trends of the day. The themes pervading Menon’s artwork are universal yet distinctly Indian: urban life, family, spirituality. Her flat, decisive brushstrokes evoke the style of Byzantine art, harking back to her studies of medieval Christian iconography during her time in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts. Observers of Menon have likened her works to that of Modigliani, Van Gogh, M. F. Husain, and Amrita Sher-Gil.

Since setting off as a young artist committed to deliberate, almost austere figures, Menon has evolved greatly and perfected a style signature to her enigmatic story. Her early works showed a deft hand at applying muted, translucent colors, layering thin glazes of oil paint onto hardboard before burnishing with a soft dry brush. As her style continued to evolve, Menon adopted the distinctive compositional features of early Christian art – namely frontal perspective, the averted head, and slight elongation of the body – while also frequently painting female nudes. Her brushstrokes have grown bolder, her lines sharper and her color palette more saturated as she has matured. Menon’s portfolio features characters inspired by loved ones alongside black crows, empty chairs, and hidden figures encapsulating feelings of distance and loss.

Menon is also a social activist, who supports the education of disadvantaged children. Based on her life and work, a book Anjolie Ela Menon: Paintings in Private Collections has been published and several films have been made on her by Doordarshan and CNN. She has been honoured with the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards in India. She was also awarded the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Letters by the French Government.