Important Notice

M.F. Husain's unique modern idiom has always acknowledged traditional Indian sensibilities, and, on several occasions, adopted classical Indian aesthetics as a substrate on which his images could be constructed. Particularly inspired by India's sculptural traditions, where music and musicians were popular subjects, Husain frequently attempted to capture the multifaceted nature of artistic expression on his canvas. In paintings like the present... M.F. Husain's unique modern idiom has always acknowledged traditional Indian sensibilities, and, on several occasions, adopted classical Indian aesthetics as a substrate on which his images could be constructed. Particularly inspired by India's sculptural traditions, where music and musicians were popular subjects, Husain frequently attempted to capture the multifaceted nature of artistic expression on his canvas. In paintings like the present lot, the artist sought to relate the aesthetics of modern art with the movements of classical Indian dance, the sounds of different Ragas, and the sculpted sensuality of temple carvings. "By celebrating poetry, music and dance in his paintings, Husain reasserts the ancient Indian belief that all arts arise from the same creative source and excellence in one, requires a deep understanding of all the others" (K. Bikram Singh, Maqbool Fida Husain, Rahul and Art, New Delhi, 2008, p. 299).

Here, Husain's engagement with classical Indian dance extends to its mythological roots in Lord Shiva's depiction as Nataraja or supreme lord of the dance and his divine dance known as the Tandava. On the left of the frame, the artist paints Nataraja dancing the Tandava, said to be a manifestation of primal energy and the eternal cosmic cycle of creation and destruction. Almost mirroring his figure on the right is a female dancer, frozen in the traditional tribhanga or tri-axial posture, bearing an elephant, generally symbolic of fertility in Husain's work, on her bent hip. This pairing is significant as the Tandava is said to have a direct influence on the Natya Shastra, an ancient treatise on dance and the performing arts, which has deeply influenced the structures and movements of classical Indian dances.

Speaking about the artist's relationship with classical Indian dance, Geeta Kapur notes that following 1959, the inspiration for Husain's paintings came "...not directly from the sculptures of Mathura, Khajuraho or Konaraka but from live dancers who emulate the divine nartakis of stone. Husain has been fascinated by Bharata Natyam and Odissi, with their geometric, well-regulated, highly stylized movements." The figure inspired by these dances had a "slender body arranged in the tribhanga position, or a more exaggerated version of it, with one leg upraised and bent at the knee, the hand lifted in gesture" ("Maqbool Fida Husain: Folklore and Fiesta", Contemporary Indian Artists, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1978, p. 143).

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