Important Notice

Since his first solo exhibition at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay, in 1951, Jehangir Sabavala’s artistic vocabulary has constantly been evolving, growing deeper and more meditative over the years. Even today, with more than five decades of painting behind him, Sabavala does not pause to survey the past, but continues to push forward in his artistic quest to find lyricism and serenity in a seemingly irredeemable world.

Despite the primacy... Since his first solo exhibition at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay, in 1951, Jehangir Sabavala’s artistic vocabulary has constantly been evolving, growing deeper and more meditative over the years. Even today, with more than five decades of painting behind him, Sabavala does not pause to survey the past, but continues to push forward in his artistic quest to find lyricism and serenity in a seemingly irredeemable world.

Despite the primacy of tranquil land and seascapes in his oeuvre, from the mid 1960s onwards, several of Sabavala’s canvases started to become populated by small groups of silent figures traversing terrains with which they seemed inextricably connected. As Nancy Adajania note, in these paintings, “…we interact with different personae: those of an alchemist, a monk, a visitant, a pilgrim, a refugee, a mystic; or the veiled figure whose identity will always remain a mystery. These questing figures, painted against enchanted, spectral landscapes, are bewitching projections of Sabavala’s personality. Although his landscapes are departures from actual geographical sites – it could be the Sahyadris or Lac Leman – they are essentially private conundrums where the universal drama of exile, loss and longing is performed” (“Between the Plain and the Precipice: Jehangir Sabavala’s Art of Travel”, Limited Edition Serigraphs: Jehangir Sabavala, The Serigraph Studio exhibition catalogue, 2008, p. 30).

Constructed out of several planes of colour, each one textured and illuminated in a unique way, the verticality of the three cloaked figures in the present lot is perfectly complimented by the horizontal bands of land, mountain and sky that they stand against. Speaking about this painting, a large canvas executed in a muted palette, Sabavala notes, “The Wayfarers is a theme to which I return frequently. They are pilgrims, monks, or members of a brotherhood. Or could they be you and I, set on life’s journey – coming from somewhere, going somewhere? There are no ready answers” (correspondence with the artist, July, 2010).

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