22-23 / 144
22
23
M F Husain’s paintings of Mother
Teresa, Indira Gandhi, and the
Gaja
Gamini
series depicting Madhuri
Dixit, spanned the spectrum from
the reverential to the sensual. In
paintings such as the present lot,
a darker palette and ambiguous
facial features create an aura of
mystery. A vertical composition
places the woman painted in
profile in a restricted space. She is
seated in contemplation and holds
an orb. An unspoken dialogue is
suggested between them. Husain
often juxtaposed objects and
symbols to tap into unformed
emotions and to add a layer of
meaning to his paintings.
Through his paintings of women,
Husain created a range of
emotions. “Women dumb with
grief; forlorn and inconsolable
women; women in their mercurial
moods; seductive women; women
limp
with
longing;
women
delirious with passion, roused to a
ferocious sexuality; women supine
in anguish; women forsaken...
he has known them all, and for
each he has created an expressive
geometry, precise in evoking her
particular state of mind.” (E Alkazi,
“Flickering Hieroglyphs: Some
Recurrent Themes in Husain’s
Work,”
Portrait of an Umbrella
,
New Delhi: Art Heritage, 1977‒78)
Husain’s masterful handling of his
subject was informed by his studies
of miniature painting, classical
sculpture, and his own travels and
observations of rural and urban life.
Husain experimented with form,
mood and style in each work, and
no two are ever quite the same.
12
M F HUSAIN
(1913 ‒ 2011)
Untitled
Signed in Devnagari (upper left);
inscribed 'II/ Trinidad' (on the reverse)
Oil on canvas
36 x 14.25 in (91.2 x 36 cm)
Rs 40,00,000 ‒ 60,00,000
$ 63,495 ‒ 95,240
PROVENANCE
Gifted by the artist, circa 1970
Thence by descent
“I am essentially concerned
with the human form and
the mysteries of life.”
M F HUSAIN