Untitled (Mother and Child)

There are not many artists who can sum up an entire world with just a few lines. Jamini Roy was one of those rare geniuses. Nandalal Bose, his contemporary, was another. In this gouache work, Roy used just a few strokes in his unique stylisation to create one of the most abiding images of humanity since ancient times—a mother nursing her child, a moment that nobody on earth would want to take anything away from. Especially heartwarming are the small, curvaceous lines of the baby’s plump arm as it holds the mother’s hand. A picture so complete, it needs no further explanation.