SAKTI BURMAN (B. 1935)UNTITLED (SEATED FEMALE NUDE)SKETCH ON PAPERSIGNED UPPER RIGHT5 X 4 INCHES

A SPIRITED LINE DRAWING BY SAKTI BURMAN, THE CELEBRATED INDIAN MODERN ARTIST KNOWN FOR HIS EXPRESSIVE, ECONOMICAL FIGURATION, IN WHICH A SEATED FEMALE FIGURE WITH WAVY SHOULDER-LENGTH HAIR AND A BEADED NECKLACE WITH A ROUND PENDANT LOOKS OUT DIRECTLY AT THE VIEWER, HER ARMS FOLDED ACROSS HER BODY AND ONE KNEE DRAWN UP IN FRONT OF HER. THE FIGURE IS RENDERED IN A SINGLE CONFIDENT BLACK PEN LINE, WITH SIMPLIFIED, ROUNDED FORMS, LARGE ALMOND-SHAPED EYES AND A PLAYFUL, MONUMENTAL PRESENCE THAT RECALLS THE INFLUENCE OF MODERN EUROPEAN MASTERS SUCH AS PICASSO AND MATISSE. THE WORK REFLECTS BURMAN’S LIFELONG FASCINATION WITH THE HUMAN FORM AND HIS ABILITY TO CAPTURE CHARACTER AND SENSUALITY WITH A MINIMUM OF MARKS, HERE DRAWN SPONTANEOUSLY ON A SHEET OF EL CASTELLANO HOTEL STATIONERY FROM MÉRIDA, YUCATÁN, MEXICO.