58-59 / 144
58
59
Zameen
, 1955, oil on canvas, 92 x 548 cm
Collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
Reproduced from K Bikram Singh,
Maqbool Fida Husain
, New Delhi: Rahul & Art, 2008, pp. 76‒77
This vertical composition presents vignettes of rural life, each
with a distinct focus. The uppermost panel has a sculptural
quality, with faces which are solid and weighty. In comparison,
the traditionally garbed and animated man, woman and
child in the centre panel are engaged in a form of dramatic
storytelling or conversation. Their attire indicates a rural setting.
At the bottom of the canvas is a quintessential Indian village
scene, with a tree, water pots and silhouettes of cattle against
the sun. Each section is composed of solid colours that add to
the rustic character of the figures, all of which are set against a
background of rich, brown earthiness.
Rustic, rural scenes dominated Husain’s oeuvre in the 1950s.
It was during this time that he created seminal works such
as
Man
(1950) and
Zameen
(1955)
.
In
Man,
he experimented
with unusual forms, lines, shapes and colour, which he then
continued to explore over the following decades. In
Zameen
,
Husain juxtaposed montages of village life in a more complex
composition. While the very large
Zameen
is incomparable in
scale, the confidently rendered forms and the use of panels for
storytelling as a compositional technique, is comparable to that
of the present lot.
PROPERTY FROM A CORPORATE COLLECTION, NEW DELHI
28
M F HUSAIN
(1913 ‒ 2011)
Untitled
Signed 'Husain' (centre right)
Acrylic on canvas
57.75 x 39.25 in (147 x 99.6 cm)
Rs 40,00,000 ‒ 60,00,000
$ 63,495 ‒ 95,240
PROVENANCE:
Acquired from Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi