Untitled (Woman Playing Sitar) 1986

M.F. Husain made this striking painting of a woman playing sitar with oil on canvas. I love how he’s captured the process of artmaking itself, with these almost brutal, economical brushstrokes and bold planes of colour. The materiality of the painting feels so present. You can almost feel the scratch of the brush against the canvas, especially in that fierce yellow background. Look at the way Husain renders the woman's white dress, with these thick, almost sculptural lines defining the folds and creases. Then notice the red sphere on the right, this is so simply rendered but the blue lines around it make it almost leap out of the painting. It makes me think of Robert Delaunay and his interest in how we perceive colour. Like Husain, Delaunay embraced ambiguity, inviting us to experience the world in new ways. But that’s art for you - it’s not about fixed meanings but possibilities.