Maqbool Fida Husain (B. 1915)

The courtesan, Chandramukhi, is one of the main characters in Bengali writer, Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's 1917 novel, Devdas. With her mouth open in song, Chandramukhi poses dramatically among numerous musical accoutrements including a drum and the mysterious piano or harmonium key notations on her robes. Lunging forward hair flowing, the details of Chandramukhi have materialized from the colorful silhouettes of Husain's earlier females with the contours of her stomach, hair, face and clothes emerging from the canvas.