Untitled (Mother and Child)

N.S. Bendre left Baroda in 1966, following a long teaching stint at M.S. University's celebrated Faculty of Fine Arts, and returned to Bombay where he would live for the rest of his life. This painting was most likely done shortly after this move, and also marks a return to figuration after a period of abstraction and experimentation with Cubism.

Unaffected simplicity is the prevalent tone in this portrait of a mother with her sleeping child, where the use of bright colors and deliberate lack of detailing creates a spatial tension and emphasizes rural serenity. There is no modelling or shadow to the figures, yet there is some hint at perspective, as the figures are solidly placed in the foreground and the semi-abstract surroundings form the background of the painting.