With her Property

Haren Das was a prominent printmaker and master of academic naturalism, and unlike his contemporaries who were moving away from realism, he remained faithful to this style throughout his artistic career. Having grown up in a farming community in East Dinajpur (in present day Bangladesh), Das extensively documented rural women at work. The abundance and variety of such images hark back to the rhythms of work and leisure that was a part of his childhood. In this woodcut, we see a homeless woman, dragging herself along with her belongings. While the figure herself appears like a silhouette against the light-yellow background—as if framed against a gradually darkening sky—a masterful use of chiaroscuro picks out the details of her belongings. The artist adds another poignant detail—that of a dog, accompanying the destitute woman, perhaps suggesting a bond of compassion.