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Lot 35

 

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Throughout his career, F.N. Souza was compelled to paint the human figure in an effort to document both the beauty and depravity of his race. Steering clear of abstraction, the artist made it his mission to portray humanity for what it really was. As his biographer, Edwin Mullins, notes, “Souza’s particular strength lies not in his refusal to admit the importance of abstract art, but in his capacity to find in figurative painting everything that... Throughout his career, F.N. Souza was compelled to paint the human figure in an effort to document both the beauty and depravity of his race. Steering clear of abstraction, the artist made it his mission to portray humanity for what it really was. As his biographer, Edwin Mullins, notes, “Souza’s particular strength lies not in his refusal to admit the importance of abstract art, but in his capacity to find in figurative painting everything that he needs; so much so, that he cannot understand why any other artist can do anything else. ‘To paint abstract paintings is quite impossible.’ Souza has written, ‘it’s like trying to paint thin air and those who think they do are fooling themselves. They claim to be going “beyond”. Beyond what? Beyond zero is minus. They say the spectator must bring his own imagination to work upon their painted surfaces, which means that the spectator should do all the work. It’s another instance of the Emperor’s clothes. And if this is “art”, then I’m the little boy who shouts ‘it’s naked!’” (Souza, Anthony Blond Ltd., London, p. 36)

Souza’s series of portraits from the late 1950s are probably his most important and well-known figurative works. In addition to exploring the nuances of figuration, these portraits served as channels for the artist’s scathing social commentary, frequently centered on the dual issues of sex and religion, pleasure and suffering, which absorbed him all through his career. Offering insight into his personal life as well as his beliefs, they unmasked the hypocrisy he saw in both the clergy and the gentry, exposing their ‘soullessness’ for all to see.

In the present lot, one of Souza’s disparaging portraits of rulers, a bearded king in an opulent green robe stares vacantly out of the frame. His almost cylindrical face with drawn eyes set high in the forehead, elongated tubular nose, and clenched teeth do not reflect the subject’s supposed nobility. Rather, through this portrait, Souza offers viewers what he believes is the reality that lies beneath the ornamentation, ridiculing those who occupy positions of power, and the blind faith that is usually placed in them.

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