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In this painting titled
Bhoomi
, Raza continues the spiritual
and emotional journey he explored in other works,
synonymously titled,
Earth
or
La Terre
. Raza’s beloved
bindu
appears here, representing both the seed from which nature
is created as well as the embryo from which human life is
begun. This duality unites man with nature. Upright and
inverted triangles in earth colours make up the geometric
composition. They are symbols of
prakriti
and
purusha
,
the female and male kinetic energies that are needed for
creation. Painted in 1987 at a stage when Raza had begun
to visit India more often from his residence in France, the
present lot belongs to a group of paintings which drew upon
his childhood memories of the forests of Madhya Pradesh.
PROPERTY FROM A FAMILY COLLECTION,
NEW DELHI
45
S H RAZA
(1922 ‒ 2016)
Bhoomi
Signed and dated 'RAZA '87' (lower left);
signed, dated and inscribed 'RAZA/ 1987/
"BHOOMI"' (on the reverse)
1987
Acrylic on canvas
39.25 x 39.25 in (100 x 100 cm)
Rs 2,00,00,000 ‒ 3,00,00,000
$ 317,465 ‒ 476,195
"A painting grows gradually, organically. The bija, the seed, is the beginning of
human life. This miniscule point which is energy condensed can grow from its
embryonic form – to give birth to a whole series of paintings.”
S H RAZA
© S H Raza