Amrita Sher-Gil

This book was published in conjunction with the Amrita Sher-Gil exhibitions held at: Haus der Kunst Munich, Germany 3 October 2006 - 7 January 2007 Tate Modern London, England 28 February - 22 April 2007 The first 31 pages of this 160 page book are text: A 2 page Forward, a 3 page Introduction and an 18 page essay. But...before you start reading any of these get out the full unabridged version of the dictionary because you're going to need it to plow your way through this pile of text. These were obviously written by PhDs who are impressed with their command of the English language and weren't afraid to use every "BIG" word they could possibly think of... (I don't think some of them are even real words). What we have here is a classic case of "failure to communicate". If English is not your primary language don't even attempt it. Fortunately, there is a short two page bio in the back of the book that says it all in plain English. As the title implies, this book is not just about Amrita. Although most of it is devoted to Amrita, there is a considerable amount of information about other members of her immediate family, especially her father. There are 105 plates in this book...photographs and paintings...mostly color but some B/W. They are priceless and worth the cost of the book. There is also some commentary about some of the paintings that attempts to explain their meaning. There is a Chronology in the back but it's very brief and insignificant. If you are looking for informative biographical material, then I recommend: "Amrita Sher-Gil - A Life".