Punjabi with Mandolin

Angela’s early works were immensely influenced by her father’s aesthetics, the well-known artist António Xavier Trindade (1870-1935) and her Western education. Executed soon after the partition of Punjab, during the Independence of India in 1947, in a time when itinerant musicians moved freely all over India, the present work is a copy from António Xavier Trindade’s much earlier prototype.
The itinerant musician is depicted with, not a mandolin as the title suggests but, what seems to be a tumbi, a one string traditional instrument, suspended from his right shoulder and a khartal, an ancient musical instrument used mainly in folk songs. Wearing a traditional long sleeve kurta in earthy colours and an orange turban, he looks straight at the viewer. As expected from someone who entertains for a living, the Punjabi musician seems to be waiting to start his performance with a steadfast gaze.
References: Gracias, Fátima, Ângela Trindade: A Trinity of Colour, Light and Emotion, Fundação Oriente, Panjim, Goa, 2016; Eiland, William U. at all, António Xavier Trindade: An Indian Painter from Portuguese Goa (exhibition catalogue), Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, 1996.