Important Notice

Bawa's work which explores the complex, non-verbal relationship between man and animal has evolved with subtlety over the decades. In the 1970s, his paintings "...present man as a brute - a conqueror with sword and shield... Over time, Bawa paints the two in harmony, coming together as if in a trance, the focus on their interlocking bodies." (Amrita Jhaveri, A Guide to 101 Modern & Contemporary Indian Artists, Mumbai: India Book House... Bawa's work which explores the complex, non-verbal relationship between man and animal has evolved with subtlety over the decades. In the 1970s, his paintings "...present man as a brute - a conqueror with sword and shield... Over time, Bawa paints the two in harmony, coming together as if in a trance, the focus on their interlocking bodies." (Amrita Jhaveri, A Guide to 101 Modern & Contemporary Indian Artists, Mumbai: India Book House Pvt. Ltd., 2005, p. 16) The present lot achieves a subtle balance between man as conqueror of, and man in harmony with, an animal.

"The interaction between man and beast forms a vital undercurrent in all [of] Bawa's paintings. It is significant that the meditational form in his canvas could be an animal, as much as it could be a human form or deity." (Geeti Sen quoted in Ina Puri, Let's Paint the Sky Red: Manjit Bawa, New Delhi: Vadehra Art Gallery exhibition catalogue, 2011, p. 77)

The present lot presents a lyrical composition of the man and the dog, a harmony in the way both leap forward. Both are modelled in a similar fashion that makes them seem rubbery and boneless. The dog's rear limb, for example, forms a single closed shape with his tail, suggesting the fantastical. Commenting on Bawa's technique, Krishen Khanna says: "The balloon-like shapes found an easy transition into his human, animal and plant shapes. He was making a philosophical assertion in addition to the aesthetic which naturally followed. He was implying that the same force inhabits all creation." (Puri, p. 101)

Bawa trained at the College of Art in Delhi, following which he studied silkscreen printing in London. The technique he arrived at draws from two distinct traditions: Pahari miniature painting, whose vocabulary consisted of a fixed set of images, and silkscreen printing, made up of smooth and flat colours. His figures, though supple, rubbery and shaded with soft gradations that stem from his training in silkscreen painting, possess the gracefulness of those seen in miniature painting. This grace carries forward in works such as the present lot, and is used by the artist to suggest layers of hidden intent in the actions of his figures.

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