Important Notice

As a child in Goa, Newton Souza grew up in awe of the Catholic Church. As he grew older, however, the artist gradually became aware of what he perceived as the pretences and hypocrisy of his religion. Ever since, his life and work have been marked by the tension he constantly experienced between an adherence to his faith and an urge to harshly criticize it.

In the present lot, Souza presents Catholicism as nothing deeper than... As a child in Goa, Newton Souza grew up in awe of the Catholic Church. As he grew older, however, the artist gradually became aware of what he perceived as the pretences and hypocrisy of his religion. Ever since, his life and work have been marked by the tension he constantly experienced between an adherence to his faith and an urge to harshly criticize it.

In the present lot, Souza presents Catholicism as nothing deeper than decoration and ceremony – an ornamental faith based on appearances, words and objects rather than people. As the critic Yashodhara Dalmia explains, Souza’s work in the still-life genre like this painting “…reflect liturgical practices and often consist of sacred objects or biblical references” (The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2001, p. 92). Instead of mocking its priests and saints, as he does in several of his figurative works, here the artist questions the rituals and symbols of the Roman Catholic Church. With his characteristic strong line and an unusual intensity of decoration and detail, this piece from 1961 was painted at the zenith of Souza’s fame in London, a period in which he repeatedly invoked religious themes to question divine knowledge and organized faith.

Also admitting somewhat naive fascination with the pageantry of the faith, which might explain the ornamentation and detail of this canvas, the artist says, “The Roman Catholic church had a tremendous influence over me, not its dogmas but its grand architecture and the splendour of its services. The priest dressed in richly embroidered vestments, each of his garments from the biretta to the chasuble symbolising the accoutrements of Christ’s passion” (Edwin Mullins, Souza, Anthony Blond Ltd, London, 1962, p. 42).

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