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Lot 6

 

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This work is from Husain’s iconic Mother Teresa series. An exemplary humanitarian figure, Mother Teresa founded the Missionary of Charity which went on to serve the needs of the destitute, orphaned and dying of Kolkata for over four decades. The catholic nun was lauded for her selfless efforts the world over and after her passing in 1997 Pope John Paul II initiated her beatification towards granting her the status of a saint. Husain’s first... This work is from Husain’s iconic Mother Teresa series. An exemplary humanitarian figure, Mother Teresa founded the Missionary of Charity which went on to serve the needs of the destitute, orphaned and dying of Kolkata for over four decades. The catholic nun was lauded for her selfless efforts the world over and after her passing in 1997 Pope John Paul II initiated her beatification towards granting her the status of a saint. Husain’s first meeting with Mother Teresa had a profound impact on the artist and he began to prominently feature her in his paintings from the 1980s onwards.

The present lot features Mother Teresa as the center of the composition, seated with an infant straddled on her lap and another adolescent figure to her right, her whole body framed with an arch. Husain portrayed her as a faceless entity, her form depicted through the characteristic white drapes of her sari with blue borders and the gesture of her hands. Although petite in stature in real life, her rendition in Husain’s many compositions is commanding in scale. The present lot depicts her seated, the arch centering her majestic form, insinuating qualities of a strong personality. The figure is composed in a triangular form, brings to mind the imagery of the famed Pietà - a sculpture of a seated Virgin Mary with the body of Jesus across her lap, created by Michelangelo, which embodies the love a mother has for her child. Husain was moved by this sculpture on his visit to Italy and took to emulating the timeless posture of the Virgin Mary when rendering Mother Teresa on his canvases.

Husain has stated in the past that in Mother Teresa he saw an eternal figure and it would not be overstating that he identified her with the Madonna- the divine maternal figure with endless compassion for all humanity. This could also be the reason why he chooses not to paint her face and leave it a blank, for in her he sees not the particular but the universal mother. Husain’s constant engagement with the maternal figure throughout his artistic career stems from the unfortunate circumstance of him losing his mother when he was but a baby. He himself has claimed to seek the maternal spirit in the appropriation of goddesses and personalities like Mother Teresa in his works.

Khalid Mohamed’s transcription of Husain’s writings in Urdu aptly describes the artist’s vision of Mother Teresa, which he transcribed on his many works - “A white saree against an inky blue background waltzed over canvas after canvas. There were flashes of orphaned kids amidst the folds of that white saree. Two thin blue stripes comprised the saree’s border. These canvases were dedicated to the widely revered, goddess-like woman: Mother Teresa. Her concern for motherless children was pure, boundless. Mother Teresa was love, compassion, caring. She did not need an outline or a face, a mother lives even in absentia.” (M.F. Husain & K. Mohamed, Where art thou: An autobiography, Mumbai: M.F. Husain Foundation, 2002, p. 18)

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