Goddess Sasthi

An artist and a teacher of great distinction, Maniklal Banerjee painted exquisitely, and almost exclusively, on silk, thereby adding a further element of delicacy to his training in the Bengal School style that he rendered in a more modern language. Besides landscapes, studies of women were his preferred subjects, of which this Untitled work is an example. It shows a mother in a superwoman avatar as she balances her numerous children, some of whom are naughty. Her bright red saree, a prominent gold necklace and alta (red paint) on her feet are an allusion to goddess Durga, the all-powerful mother.