Important Notice

Husain's horse paintings are arguably among the best known in the artist's oeuvre. He began painting the horse in the 1950s and continued to create the animal in varied incarnations throughout his life. Husain's preoccupation with the horse developed from his encounter with the animal at a very young age. He spent a lot of time with Acchan Mian, a farrier who was his grandfather's friend, and often fixed iron shoes on tonga horses. The... Husain's horse paintings are arguably among the best known in the artist's oeuvre. He began painting the horse in the 1950s and continued to create the animal in varied incarnations throughout his life. Husain's preoccupation with the horse developed from his encounter with the animal at a very young age. He spent a lot of time with Acchan Mian, a farrier who was his grandfather's friend, and often fixed iron shoes on tonga horses. The horse was also a significant part of the Muharram processions he witnessed in Indore during his childhood. Duldul, the Imam's horse was bedecked and venerated, during the ceremonial processions.

The present lot exemplifies Husain's ability to harness the vigour and elegance of horses through a masterful use of line and colour. Light and shadow add another dimension to the bucking and rearing horses whose frenzied energy is barely contained within the painting. "He creates a dynamic equilibrium between two contrary movements of looking back and running forward." (K Bikram Singh, Maqbool Fida Husain, New Delhi: Rahul & Art, 2008, p. 179)

Husain drew inspiration from a multitude of sources. The horses are painted with strong lines which break the surface and give them "the feel of armour," which is a technique he borrows from Chinese painting traditions. German Expressionist Franz Marc, and Italian sculptor Marino Marini, also influenced his treatment of the horse. Husain "...removes his animal figures from their traditional context or natural environment and places them in a new setting that invests them with new meanings. In addition, he experiments with their forms and gives them new forms transcending realism... The meaning of horse as a symbol and as a motif continues to grow over the years and acquires resonances that are not confined only to its formal values or to its associations with man in activities of war and peace." (Singh, pp. 169, 171)

The present lot represents "some of his finest work and demonstrate[s] the power of his draftsmanship, his deep understanding of the myths associated with the horse in the multi-faceted Indian artistic and cultural tradition and his talent to invest them with a new contemporary meaning." (Singh, p. 192)

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