Hemendranath Mazumdar

Hemendranath Mazumdar born in a landowning family in Bengal. Hemen Mazumdar changed the way women were depicted in Indian art. Early in his career, he was known for his portraits of Indian royalty and paintings of women, whom he painted in diaphanous clothes. After Ravi Varma, he became the most sought-after artist for oil portraits. His large oils of partially clothed or nude women, with their air of voyeuristic eroticism attracted the Maharajas of Jaipur, Bikaner, Kashmir, Patiala and other princely states as clients who threw open their palaces to him. Most commonly a single woman is seen in these works in wet drapery and idealised romantic settings, emphasizing sensuous appeal.