Untitled

Thota Vaikuntam is one of the few Indian artists who have resolutely refused to ape the West at any stage of their career, drawing inspiration from local surroundings instead. Trained at Hyderabad and later under K. G. Subramanyan at Baroda, Vaikuntam has brought focus on the robust and richly adorned men and women of his native Telangana. The portraits, like the one under consideration here, feature women in all their finery, speaking of their sturdiness as well as sexuality; the latter implied by the figure’s brightly highlighted breasts.