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Lot 64

 

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The depiction of horses occurs repeatedly in Husain’s oeuvre, manifesting as both literal and metaphorical motifs. Influenced by diverse sources – including the fairs and merry?go?rounds of his childhood, stories and legends, Western artists such as Franz Marc and Marino Marini, as well as his own travels in China in the 1950s – Husain’s equine figures represent power, freedom, passion and immortality. Often portrayed within a frenzy of... The depiction of horses occurs repeatedly in Husain’s oeuvre, manifesting as both literal and metaphorical motifs. Influenced by diverse sources – including the fairs and merry?go?rounds of his childhood, stories and legends, Western artists such as Franz Marc and Marino Marini, as well as his own travels in China in the 1950s – Husain’s equine figures represent power, freedom, passion and immortality. Often portrayed within a frenzy of movement, as in the present lot, “Husain’s painted horses do not just bear majestic stateliness and striking beauty but also come alive in every mood, situation and form. Their forceful movement conveys so much that it carries us away with it.” (Rashda Siddiqui, In Conversation with Husain Paintings, New Delhi: Books Today, 2001, p. 112)

Although horses are symbolic of the sun, knowledge and fertility in Indian mythology, 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.” (K Bikram Singh, Maqbool Fida Husain, New Delhi: Rahul & Art, 2008, pp. 169, 171) In doing so, Husain takes the leitmotif of the horse with all its connotations and makes it inherently his own.

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