The Drents Museum in Assen, Netherlands, has opened a major exhibition of works by Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-1941), the Hungarian-Indian painter often called the Picasso of India. Titled “Europe is Picasso’s, India is Mine,” the show features nearly 50 paintings and drawings on loan from the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, marking the first-ever Sher-Gil exhibition in the Netherlands and the first in Europe in nearly two decades. Originally scheduled for March, the opening was delayed due to geopolitical tensions linked to the war in Iran, which postponed the transport of the artworks. The museum worked for six years to secure the loan, and 23 Dutch museums stepped in to create an alternative exhibition during the delay.
This exhibition matters because Sher-Gil is widely regarded as the founder of modern Indian art, yet her work is rarely seen outside India due to its status as national heritage. The show introduces Dutch audiences to an artist who blended European modernism with Indian themes and colors during her brief 28-year life. It also represents a significant milestone for the Drents Museum, which is rebuilding trust after a high-profile theft of Romanian artifacts in January 2025—a case that saw the stolen golden helmet of Cotofenesti and gold bracelets recovered earlier this year. The exhibition underscores the delicate logistics of transporting culturally sensitive national treasures across borders amid global instability.