Important Notice

"Art has to evolve from your very being, like my horses... I see them as ageless and immortal. They draw chariots in the great epics, they stand proudly in the poorest stables, they are embodiments of strength like the dragons of China." - M F HUSAIN

Husain revisited the leitmotif of horses - representative of power, passion and freedom - throughout his oeuvre. They continued to evolve and incorporate a mix of influences,... "Art has to evolve from your very being, like my horses... I see them as ageless and immortal. They draw chariots in the great epics, they stand proudly in the poorest stables, they are embodiments of strength like the dragons of China." - M F HUSAIN

Husain revisited the leitmotif of horses - representative of power, passion and freedom - throughout his oeuvre. They continued to evolve and incorporate a mix of influences, including his childhood experiences with fairs, merry-go-rounds and legends. Husain's study of horses from the Chinese Sung dynasty, the terracotta folk traditions of Bankura and cave art, and the work of Western artists such as Franz Marc and Mario Marini added nuance to his precise lines and the portrayal of complex emotions. Husain's horses are archetypes and "... subterranean creatures. Their nature is not intellectualised: it is rendered as sensation or as abstract movement, with a capacity to stir up vague premonitions and passions, in a mixture of ritualistic fear and exultant anguish." (Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S Kapur, Husain, New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1972, p. 43)

The present lot depicts two majestic charging horses, one white and the other black, framed against a textured blue sky. Their colours are reminiscent of the Chinese philosophical concept of yin and yang, or opposing teams in a game of chess, perhaps symbolising duality and balance. O ften portrayed in 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)

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