Page 31 - Eye of the beholder

The “Lady by the Mirror” is an elegant poetic work that has its ambience enhanced by an imminent light emanating from within the composition, imparting an appearance of the celestial realm. Her greenish blue sari with gold border resonates with minimum jewellery that adorns her. Yet the enticing aspect of about her is the deeply contemplative eyes that reflect the narrative of her thoughts. Her adornment ensemble is placed next to the mirror but she is lost in a reverie. The mirror translates as a metaphor of alter ego and at a deeper level to spiritual contemplation. This latter element was definitive of nayikas in Indian pictorial tradition. The setting of the closed interior is perhaps reflective of her mind in which the churning thoughts make her unaware of her surroundings reinforced by her posture of hugging herself tightly. The psychological insights apparent in this work is truly remarkable, marking Mazumdar’s work a notch above the academic realist who portrayed landscapes and portraits with similitude and artistic veracity.
The influence of western salon painting on Hemen is clearly visible in this painting. A beautiful woman with a seemingly lost gaze, looking at a mirror is a composition whose timeless mystery has been captured my western artists since the time of the renaissance. Hemen's genius lies in adopting the timeless elements of this composition and adapting them to the context of 20th century Bengal.
The painting came to my collection from a collector in Mumbai, and could be traced back to previous collectors in Bengal. The painting was covered in a thick layer of grime, and had suffered hugely in the heat, dust and humidity of India. A long and painful cleaning and restoration process brought it back to its current state of glory.
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