'The Nude' is an oil on canvas by Jamini Roy from the period between1910-20, a rare example, the likes of which have never appeared before in public observance. A tall, elongated figure perched on a rock, her image immediately elicits a startling likeness
to the ‘naïveté’ style of Henri Rousseau. In a marked departure from his contemporaries who were obsessed with realism, Rousseau
deliberately chose the path of ‘Primitivism’ or the ‘Naïve’ manner of depicting forms in flat colours inspired by the ancient traditions
of Egyptian, Byzantine and Mexican Art. In the post-photographic era, Rousseau’s ideals stood the test of time encouraging artists like
Picasso and Matisse to seek a new pictorial vocabulary that consciously departed from blind realism. Jamini too found a renewed
conviction in this mannerism as it connected him to the unpretentious aesthetic traditions his native land of Bankura. 'The Nude'
therefore stands testimony to this decisive shift and is indicative of the imminent stylistic expressionism.