Busied by her day-to-day chores yet filled with a spirit of liveliness, the “Village Belle” by Usha Shantharam is the perfection of realism, which depicts the ordinary with such details that the extraordinary within becomes visible to the audience. The surroundings of the Belle are shown with a masterful understanding, creating a picture of a semi-rural settlement, with a water tank, wild bushes, cemented well, and uneven grass building a realistic ambiance. The subject is a woman, dressed in a Maxi dress, a quintessential loungewear for most Indian women, with a faded red cloth on her shoulder.
A tiny bindi on her forehead and bangles in her hand are her only ornaments, suggesting that she is a married woman, visiting the well to fill water for her household chores. Amidst all these ordinary elements, it is the nonchalant smile of the woman, one that reaches her eyes to light them up, which is the soul of this painting. With her unabashed simplicity, the subject transforms this acrylic on canvas into an interactive experience.
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