Important Notice

“Art has always been a combination of Indian literature, music, dance and architectural traditions.” - M F HUSAIN

The present lot exemplifies critic Shiv S Kapur’s observation that M F Husain was the “harbinger of a new mood in Indian art. This is a mood at once self- assured in its use of universal idioms of artistic expression, contemporary in outlook and experience, socially committed, and deeply humanistic in its exploration of... “Art has always been a combination of Indian literature, music, dance and architectural traditions.” - M F HUSAIN

The present lot exemplifies critic Shiv S Kapur’s observation that M F Husain was the “harbinger of a new mood in Indian art. This is a mood at once self- assured in its use of universal idioms of artistic expression, contemporary in outlook and experience, socially committed, and deeply humanistic in its exploration of the nature of reality.” (Shiv S Kapur, Husain, Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S Kapur, New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1972, p. 28) It is a fine demonstration of several qualities that were quintessential of Husain’s art- his love of the female form, his confident line, and his bold palette.

In this painting of a group of women, one can discern the influence of classical Indian sculpture, music, and dance on Husain’s art. Between 1948 and 1955 he became familiar with the Mathura sculptures-which he first saw at an exhibition of traditional Indian art at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Delhi-and Jain and Basohli miniature paintings, both of which had a formative influence on his oeuvre. Remarks Kapur, “The typical high-breasted and taut female figure of Mathura sculpture represented in his eyes a principle of energy and dynamism that was lacking in the more elegant figures of Ajanta paintings.” (Kapur, pp. 37-38) Husain adapted these forms to suit his own modernist sensibilities with which he sought to bridge East and West. Noting his vast influences that were rooted in India as well as in his experiences abroad, Ebrahim Alkazi remarked, “He has been unique in his ability to forge a pictorial language which is indisputably of the contemporary Indian situation but surcharged with all the energies, the rhythms of his art heritage.” (Ebrahim Alkazi, M F Husain: The Modern Artist and Tradition, New Delhi: Art Heritage, 1978, p. 3)

He uses strong yet lyrical lines to delineate the figures, each striking the tribhanga or tri-axial pose typical of classical Indian dance and thereby introducing an element of movement and a sculptural monumentality to the composition. He once explained, “One reason why I went back to the Gupta period of sculpture was to study the human form-when the British ruled we were taught to draw a figure with the proportions from Greek and Roman sculpture...That was what I thought was wrong...In the east the human form is an entirely different structure...the way a woman walks in the village there are three breaks...from the feet, the hips and shoulder...they move in rhythm...the walk of a European is erect and archaic.” (Artist quoted in Yashodhara Dalmia, “A Metaphor for Modernity”, The Making of Modern Indian Art, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, p. 102)

As art critic Richard Bartholomew has observed, Husain was an intuitive painter who put brush to canvas without hesitation and allowed the image to emerge from paint. He often used the female form as “the vehicle for his exploration of the nature and drama of reality.” (Kapur, p. 36) Of the four figures in the present lot, three overlap and merge into one another though they remain distinct in appearance. “While his paintings do have an immediate social context, the essential concern of his art is archetypal: it explores the parables of life, love, and death. The figures in his groups are for the most part given personal, not social, relationships. Each comes robed in its own solitary identity, the structure of the grouping accentuating the monumental character of the individual figure.” (Kapur, p. 58) The figures are camouflaged within foliage and blend seamlessly into the landscape, requiring the viewer to actively seek them out. Though Husain’s works rarely contained idyllic depictions of nature, this merging of human forms and nature may have been prompted by recollections of the lush landscape of Kerala which he visited in the late 1960s. He has also skilfully used his earthy palette to create depth with the figures highlighted in yellows and greens in the foreground set against a dark, reddish-brown backdrop.

Like many of Husain’s female figures, the subjects of the present lot are sensual but not overtly erotic in appearance. Remarks Yashodhara Dalmia, “It is almost as if he strips the sculptures of all exterior embellishments to arrive at their basic sense of movement. Husain’s women are always enshrouded in an invisible veil, the simplicity of their form countered by their inaccessibility.” (Dalmia, pp. 110-111)

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