90
NOVEMBER 2016 | THE TIES THAT BIND
91
77
M F HUSAIN
(1913 - 2011)
Untitled
Sketchpen on canvas
44 x 96.75 in (112 x 246 cm)
$ 30,305 - 45,455
Rs 20,00,000 - 30,00,000
This lot is offered at NO RESERVE
PROVENANCE:
Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi
Husain’s preoccupation with the horse
developed from his encounter with the animal
at a very young age. As a child, he spent a lot of
time with Acchan Mian, a farrier who was his
grandfather’s friend, and often fixed iron shoes
on
tonga
horses. The animal’s significance
gained an added dimension through the
frequent Muharram processions he witnessed
in Indore. Duldul, the Imam’s horse, was carried
around during the processions as a bedecked
horse, venerated by all. “The meaning of horse
as a symbol and as a motif continues to grow
over the years and acquires resonances that are
not confined only to its formal values or to its
associations with man in activities of war and
peace.” (K Bikram Singh,
Maqbool Fida Husain
,
New Delhi: Rahul & Art, 2008, p. 171)
“Suddenly, a black horse noticed me.
He paused, turned back and said to me,
“Go forth and see the world”.
Indeed it is true.
Seeing the world is to understand one’s own existence.
Husain knows this well.
Hence he never stays at one place for long.”
M F HUSAIN