Important Notice

Lot 69

Maqbool Fida Husain, born in rural Maharashtra in 1915, is one of India`s most well known modernists. In addition to leading a colourful life, it is Husain`s accessible and provocative art that continues to ensure a place for him among India`s most popular and critically acclaimed artists, even as he approaches his eighth decade of artistic creation. Employing popular artistic traditions, cultural icons, historical events and myth in his work... Maqbool Fida Husain, born in rural Maharashtra in 1915, is one of India`s most well known modernists. In addition to leading a colourful life, it is Husain`s accessible and provocative art that continues to ensure a place for him among India`s most popular and critically acclaimed artists, even as he approaches his eighth decade of artistic creation. Employing popular artistic traditions, cultural icons, historical events and myth in his work alongside subtle satire and references to high culture, this largely self-taught artist has successfully established himself as a painter of and for the Indian people.

This canvas, from the 1960s, is a particularly significant piece from the artist`s extensive oeuvre. Highlighting Husain`s passion for India and all of its peoples, the subjects of this painting reflect the deep humanism that has always informed this artist`s creative process. Although each of the characters here, drawn from the impressive array of Indian experience, may be looked at through varying lenses of religion, gender, geography, profession and socioeconomic status, Husain`s tableau emphasizes the value that such diversity adds to our lives. It is Husain`s belief that “universals of human life are only exhibited through particular persons in particular contexts”, and especially that life in India is an exemplary microcosm of universal human existence (Daniel A. Herwitz “Indian Art from a Contemporary Perspective” in Indian Art Today, The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C., 1986, p. 22).

Stylistically, this painting underlines the mastery Husain quickly achieved over line and colour, employing them along with other elements to maximize the impact of his work. Here, using simple, strong outlines and a bold palette, the artist draws his viewers into the lives of the characters he has created. By splitting the surface into clearly delineated planes of colour, Husain further challenges his viewers to transcend divisions and find commonality between the people behind these faces, and perhaps even to escape the confines of the canvas by drawing connections between the characters` and their own lives.

Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in: this auction  |  entire site