Important Notice

M. F. Husain's subjects were varied: "he painted horses, nudes, dances, lovers, all submerged in a patina of loneliness. The colours tended to create a sense of aloofness even in a seemingly busy environment" (Neha Berlia, Continuum: Progressive Artists' Group, New Delhi, 2011, pg. 75).

Husain liked to juxtapose his paintings of nude women with symbols that accentuated their sensual qualities. Horses were one of many animals that... M. F. Husain's subjects were varied: "he painted horses, nudes, dances, lovers, all submerged in a patina of loneliness. The colours tended to create a sense of aloofness even in a seemingly busy environment" (Neha Berlia, Continuum: Progressive Artists' Group, New Delhi, 2011, pg. 75).

Husain liked to juxtapose his paintings of nude women with symbols that accentuated their sensual qualities. Horses were one of many animals that recurred in his works, either as standalone creatures of grace and majesty, or often paired figuratively with women. Using solid patches of colour and strong lines to illustrate the figures of the woman and horses in this lot - a characteristic Husain technique - he alludes to the primal, erotic element inherent within the bestial subject and the female. "Husain's horses are subterranean creatures. Their nature is not intellectualized: 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, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1971, pg. 43).

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