Important Notice

"The central concern of Husain's art, and its dominant motif, is woman... In Husain's work, woman has the gift of eagerness... like those in ancient Jain miniature paintings, and an inward attentiveness, as if she were listening to the life coursing within her." (Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S. Kapur, Husain, New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1971, p. 46)

In this rare painting from 1965, Husain depicts two women enclosed in... "The central concern of Husain's art, and its dominant motif, is woman... In Husain's work, woman has the gift of eagerness... like those in ancient Jain miniature paintings, and an inward attentiveness, as if she were listening to the life coursing within her." (Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S. Kapur, Husain, New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1971, p. 46)

In this rare painting from 1965, Husain depicts two women enclosed in embryo-like cocoons. The body of the woman in blue is turned towards the viewer but her face is in profile. Her right hand is raised in a mudra. The woman enclosed in brown, in contrast, is seated with her back to the viewer, her face and raised right hand not quite defined. Husain uses two very different techniques to paint the women: while the lady in blue is moulded like clay, the figure next to her appears brittle and fragmented.

Husain's depictions of women are deeply rooted in Indian sculpture and miniature painting. Between 1948 and 1952, he travelled extensively across India and encountered Jain and Basohli miniature paintings and Mathura sculptures. The female forms in his paintings take their cues from the energy and dynamism of the female figure in Mathura sculptures. Aspects of Jain miniature painting techniques also seep into his work, as seen by the compartmentalisation of the two figures in this painting.

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