- 39
Maqbool Fida Husain
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Maqbool Fida Husain
- Hajera
- Signed and dated in Devanagari lower right
- Oil on canvas
- 97 x 71.5 cm. (38 ¼ x 28 ⅛ in.)
- Painted in 1964
Provenance
Acquired by a Parsi Family living in Bombay in the 1960s
Thence by descent
Thence by descent
Literature
R. Bartholomew, and S. Kapur, Husain, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1971, illustration pl. 126
Condition
There is very minor wear and loss along the top and left edge of the work. Minute craquelure can be seen along the top edge and in areas of thinner pigment such as the nose of the figure at the back. This work is in very good condition for its age.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
'It is the image of the woman which predominates in his work and for the most part she has been regarded from a deferential distance. There is a degree of idolization in his approach to the female form and like all idols it exudes an aura' (G. Kapur, ‘Maqbool Fida Husain: Folklore and Fiesta,’ Contemporary Indian Artists, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1978, p. 134).
Illustrated in Husain, the 1972 monograph by Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S. Kapur, Hajera depicts two women, illuminated in varying hues against monochromatic surroundings making them the focal point of this work. Husain paints them in reverence: the two women, one shielding her face with her ghunghat / veil, and the other sheltered by the woman in the foreground, appear to be guarding their modesty. A dark sun, another familiar theme in Husain’s early work dominates the background.
Husain creates a three-dimensional effect by his mosaic like application of paint. The colour palette in Hajera reveals the artist’s love for Indian miniatures- particularly Basholi, Malwa and Mewar schools. 'Husain loved the colour layout of these schools; the hot, bright colours, especially red and yellow (set off in the case of Malwa by blue-grey, chocolate brown and dull green), and their style of applying it flat over large areas…' (ibid., p. 139).
While the deconstruction of the main figure along multiple planes evokes a Cubist influence, the elegant stance of the women recalls traditional Indian dance forms seen in temple sculptures. This work is a profound example of Husain’s unique fusion of post-independence and Post-Impressionist painting: powerfully evocative of classic Indian plastic traditions and distinctly Modern at the same time.
Hajera is part of a legacy of Husain’s most significant paintings of women executed in the 1950s and 1960s- Blue Night (1959), Fatima (1960), Jhoola (1961), Nathani (1962), Dhoban (1963), Nartaki (1964), and Devdasi (1965). Between 1962 and 1965, Husain is said to have undergone two devastating experiences – one was the Indo-Pakistani war where he found himself subject to hostilities of the Hindu fanatics and the other was in Karbala, Iraq where he visited the scene of martyrdom of Imam Husain, the 7th century revolutionary leader who made the ultimate sacrifice for social justice in the face of corruption and tyranny. In wake of these unheroic and incredulous times, he found solace in his art in the form of women. “Man, in Husain’s view, is dynamic only in heroism. He is diminished by confusion and broken by disbelief… Spiritually, woman is more enduring. Pain comes naturally to her, as do compassion and a sense of birth and death of things. In Husain’s work, woman has the gift of eagerness… and inward attentiveness, as if she were listening to the life coursing within her” (R. Bartholomew and S. Kapur, Husain, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1972, p. 46).
Illustrated in Husain, the 1972 monograph by Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S. Kapur, Hajera depicts two women, illuminated in varying hues against monochromatic surroundings making them the focal point of this work. Husain paints them in reverence: the two women, one shielding her face with her ghunghat / veil, and the other sheltered by the woman in the foreground, appear to be guarding their modesty. A dark sun, another familiar theme in Husain’s early work dominates the background.
Husain creates a three-dimensional effect by his mosaic like application of paint. The colour palette in Hajera reveals the artist’s love for Indian miniatures- particularly Basholi, Malwa and Mewar schools. 'Husain loved the colour layout of these schools; the hot, bright colours, especially red and yellow (set off in the case of Malwa by blue-grey, chocolate brown and dull green), and their style of applying it flat over large areas…' (ibid., p. 139).
While the deconstruction of the main figure along multiple planes evokes a Cubist influence, the elegant stance of the women recalls traditional Indian dance forms seen in temple sculptures. This work is a profound example of Husain’s unique fusion of post-independence and Post-Impressionist painting: powerfully evocative of classic Indian plastic traditions and distinctly Modern at the same time.
Hajera is part of a legacy of Husain’s most significant paintings of women executed in the 1950s and 1960s- Blue Night (1959), Fatima (1960), Jhoola (1961), Nathani (1962), Dhoban (1963), Nartaki (1964), and Devdasi (1965). Between 1962 and 1965, Husain is said to have undergone two devastating experiences – one was the Indo-Pakistani war where he found himself subject to hostilities of the Hindu fanatics and the other was in Karbala, Iraq where he visited the scene of martyrdom of Imam Husain, the 7th century revolutionary leader who made the ultimate sacrifice for social justice in the face of corruption and tyranny. In wake of these unheroic and incredulous times, he found solace in his art in the form of women. “Man, in Husain’s view, is dynamic only in heroism. He is diminished by confusion and broken by disbelief… Spiritually, woman is more enduring. Pain comes naturally to her, as do compassion and a sense of birth and death of things. In Husain’s work, woman has the gift of eagerness… and inward attentiveness, as if she were listening to the life coursing within her” (R. Bartholomew and S. Kapur, Husain, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1972, p. 46).