Important Notice

Lot 75

During his formative years in Goa, Souza was fascinated by the pomp and pageantry of the Roman Catholic Church. The rituals associated with the faith, and the ornate vestments and objects associated with them, played a large role in this youthful awe. As Souza explained, the church “…had a tremendous influence over me, not its dogmas but its grand architecture and the splendour of its services… The smell of incense. And the enormous crucifix... During his formative years in Goa, Souza was fascinated by the pomp and pageantry of the Roman Catholic Church. The rituals associated with the faith, and the ornate vestments and objects associated with them, played a large role in this youthful awe. As Souza explained, the church “…had a tremendous influence over me, not its dogmas but its grand architecture and the splendour of its services… The smell of incense. And the enormous crucifix with the impaled image of a Man supposed to be the Son of God, scourged and dripping, with matted hair tangled in plaited thorns” (Edwin Mullins, Souza, Anthony Blond, 1962, p.42). Later, however, when the artist started to notice the pretences and double standards associated with his religion, he found that this splendour was no more than rigid procedure masked in unnecessary ornamentation.

Souza`s dualistic relationship of wonder and contempt with Catholicism, and all organized religion by extension, infiltrated his painting in every genre, and still life was no exception. The artist applied the genre of still life, just as he did his disfigured portraits of saints and lovers, to a critical interrogation of the notion of divine sanction, and its various interpretations and vehicles.

In some of his still life paintings Souza painted objects including the Ciborium, Chalice and Patens that were clearly ecclesiastical. In others, like this oil on board from 1961, Souza presents everyday vessels in a religious context, almost as if they stand on an alter awaiting their part in some liturgical practice. Here, the claret jug is transformed into a container of sacred wine, representing the blood of Christ, sipped by the congregation for the Eucharist.

Souza`s characteristic thick line is used both to delineate and to decorate the objects in this piece. Against a simple, stippled background, these decorated pieces, each with a specific function and story, emphasize the gratuitous embellishment that is coupled with the ceremonies of the Church.

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