Important Notice

The present lot is a rare and exceptional example of Akbar Padamsee's early explorations with the figure. Painted in 1952, a year after he moved to Paris, it is a synthesis of his study of ancient Indian art, and the many art movements and international influences he encountered in France, but portrayed in a style entirely his own.

Formally trained in painting at the Sir J J School of Art in then Bombay, Padamsee spent enormous... The present lot is a rare and exceptional example of Akbar Padamsee's early explorations with the figure. Painted in 1952, a year after he moved to Paris, it is a synthesis of his study of ancient Indian art, and the many art movements and international influences he encountered in France, but portrayed in a style entirely his own.

Formally trained in painting at the Sir J J School of Art in then Bombay, Padamsee spent enormous amounts of time on his own, studying the aesthetics of art and learning about its various schools and styles. His study of "Hindu iconography in the Shilpashastra, where he found a detailed explanation of the human form," and a three-month sojourn to South India visiting the Madras Museum and various temples, led to a deeper understanding of Indian sculptural forms. These studies influenced his early figurative works, as seen in the present lot. According to Padamsee, "They represent a union of line, form and colour. They also represent an intellectual fusion of all these elements." (Artist quoted in Bhanumati Padamsee and Annapurna Garimella eds., Akbar Padamsee: Work in Language, Mumbai: Marg Publications and Pundole Art Gallery, 2010, p. 158)

During his first year in Paris, Padamsee immersed himself in further learning about the nuances of his profession. "He systematically set about achieving his goal by familiarizing himself with masterpieces in museums, poring over books in libraries, and frequenting art galleries. It was a period of intense study during which he absorbed and imbibed various aspects of the art world around him." (Saryu Doshi, "Shades of Grey," Padamsee and Garimella eds., p. 178) Living in self-imposed isolation, Padamsee processed and distilled everything that he had seen and read. A year later, finally ready to paint, he participated in a prestigious art competition organised by the Journal D'Arte, and one of his paintings, titled Woman with bird, won him the third prize. It was awarded to him by leading Surrealist Andre Breton. This was a significant achievement for the young artist, as most of his competitors were older and more established. "All of a sudden... many doors were opened to me and everyone in Paris knew my name, all the art dealers and the press." (Artist quoted in Padamsee and Garimella eds., p. 179) That year, he also participated in his first exhibition at the Galerie Saint Placide with Raza and F N Souza, and received an award from Air France to travel to Greece. The following year, he was invited to the Venice Biennale and showed with Galerie Raymond Creuze in Paris.

Padamsee's time in Paris was seminal to his work and the exposure to current art practices brought in "a solidity, call it ruggedness, to his figuration," as seen in the present lot. (Anupa Mehta, "The Inherent Lightness of Being: Akbar Padamsee's Oeuvre of the '50s," Padamsee and Garimella eds., p. 120) According to Mehta, Padamsee's work showed some influences of European sensibilities, "but the style remained untouched by au courant trends or "isms"." He acknowledged an affinity with Surrealism, but as seen in the present lot, "[t]he ensuing imagery is distinct - sculptural in appearance with a visible influence of cubist modes of picture-making. Padamsee refers poetically to imbibed samskaras, or traditions, when questioned about the archetypal imagery and the attenuated cultish figures that populate his work throughout the '50s." (Mehta, p. 123)

Though not entirely defined, the facial features of the woman in the present lot are akin to those often seen in Pahari miniature paintings, as is the painted border. Here, as with most of his heads, Padamsee uses an indistinct background and a lone figure to explore "the formal and existential meaning of space and the location of the human in it... his portraits, especially the early ones, endow a monumentality and ponderousness to the figures." (Annapurna Garimella, "Re-Situating Akbar Padamsee: A Sociology of Figuration," Padamsee and Garimella eds., p. 90) The elongated, vacant eye of the woman in profile, too, is a recurring motif. Homi Bhabha writes that though the eyes do not look back at the viewer in these works, "...this illusive, enigmatic look is what gives the work its presence... the look here, is not the kind that makes the spectator feel immediately identified. It invites and at the same time elides his look, so it is more like a gaze." (Homi Bhabha, "Figure and Shadow: Conversations on the Illusive Art of Akbar Padamsee," Padamsee and Garimella eds., p. 46)

In 1954, Padamsee briefly returned to India to participate in his first solo exhibition at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Bombay. Writing about this show, in which the present lot, (referred to as "figure 4") was quite likely exhibited, Anupa Mehta says" "The body of work was applauded for its nuanced figuration and palpable metaphysical content: the male and female heads (figures 4, 11, 14) and torsos, male and females nudes... couples... and a series of evanescent cityscapes... established Padamsee's position at the forefront of the Indian art world." (Padamsee and Garimella eds., p. 126)

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