Important Notice

"The French landscape is extraordinary: the villages seem situated so beautifully in the context of nature." - S H RAZA

The vibrant landscape seen in the present lot was painted almost a decade after S H Raza moved to France, and represents a period when the artist's style was shifting towards the gestural. Influenced by the abstract or non-figurative artistic expression gaining popularity in France at the time, Raza's... "The French landscape is extraordinary: the villages seem situated so beautifully in the context of nature." - S H RAZA

The vibrant landscape seen in the present lot was painted almost a decade after S H Raza moved to France, and represents a period when the artist's style was shifting towards the gestural. Influenced by the abstract or non-figurative artistic expression gaining popularity in France at the time, Raza's paintings began to consist "solely of multicoloured fireworks, devoid of any geometrical organisation and always based on themes related to Nature and its elements." Over the next few years, "the importance of bhava emerged, a profound sentiment guiding the forms and investing the entire canvas." (Michael Imbert, Raza: An Introduction to his Painting, Noida: Rainbow Publishers, 2003, p. 39)

Raza sailed for France in 1950, and thus began a journey and adventure that was to influence his practice for decades. In 1951, he began studying at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris on a French government scholarship. The first few years in France, though difficult, were formative. "He came in contact for the first time with a world in which art was taken entirely seriously and definitely formed part of the life which surrounded it." (Rudolf von Leyden, Raza, Bombay: Sadanga Publications, 1959, p. 4)

This was a period of exploration for Raza, who travelled across France, as well as to Italy and Spain. "Landscapes, people - other artists thrilled him as much as the works of art of many ages and nations that he met face to face for the first time." (Von Leyden, p. 18) This exposure combined with his formal education led him to understand and appreciate Renaissance and European art, and the use of light, colour and structure, which in turn influenced his work at the time. His unique expression led to his art being featured in solo and group exhibitions around the country, and he gained the attention of many important critics including Jacques Lassaigne, the Director of the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris. In 1955, Galerie Lara Vincy offered Raza a contract to acquire his paintings against a monthly payment; and in 1956, he became the first nonFrench artist to win the renowned Prix de la Critique award, gaining widespread recognition.

During this period, the French landscape was a recurring theme in his work (as similarly seen in lot 9). "So much of exposure to a new and different visual culture could have easily caused a 'turbulent confusion.' However, instead Raza was able to attain a degree of order and a new kind of landscape started dominating his work... well-composed, painstakingly constructed, colours used very poetically and evoked a unique mood of their own. Perhaps the style developed in Bombay was getting refined and expanded in Paris... creating some new and surprising combinations." (Ashok Vajpeyi ed., A Life in Art: S H Raza, New Delhi: Art Alive Gallery, 2007, p. 64)

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