Self-portrait with Pipe

Paritosh Sen made several self-portraits during the course of his career—several of them like caricatures—sometimes also inserting himself into his paintings. This one, however, is an earlier example and comes from a time when Calcutta was in the throes of political and social upheaval, themes that Sen expressed through his art. In that sense, it becomes a departure from his work of that decade. He depicts himself as a confident young man in his studio, the poise borne from the way his jaws clasp the pipe, while a portrait of a young woman awaits his finishing touch.