Her tenderness has been stepped on and her coyness has been robbed. Woman, the gentlest creature in nature has been transformed by the hardships she faced. She is no longer the helpless, shy and forgiving creature, she has been hardened. It is this End of Innocence that artist Dhiraj Khandelwal underlines with this oil on canvas, which might look simple at first appearance, but holds a charring message within.
Encapsulated by bright tones of yellow with red flowers blooming on the outline, the face of the lady emerges in this oil on canvas from the darkened center, as if tearing up the sunny facades and revealing the dark truths underneath. The countenance of the lady appears worn by age and experience, not devoid of beauty but carrying a striking exhaustion in her eyes. Fine lines on her forehead are added carefully by the artist to chisel out her mature age for the audience and spots on her cheeks mark the abrasive work of the scorching sun on her once delicate skin. A mark above her left eye is a reminder of the damage caused by the age-old evils that exist in society. Her wound has healed, however only after leaving a blemish that stands as a cue to the pain and atrocities endured by women the world over. In her hand, the woman holds a cigarette, lifting it to her lips which have lost their rosy suppleness. With indifference and confidence that comes from braving the ravages of time and society, she is smoking. Painted carefully with grim shades of black and grey, her presence remains untouched by the effervescent colors of life. Is it a hint of tears seen in her animated gaze, which is fixated outside the canvas, on some distant point? Moving and meaningful, this oil painting is the artist’s questioning of the severity of his society, which has robbed the woman of her innocence and him of the gentleness of his muse.
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