Important Notice

Christ on Palm Sunday is Souza's interpretation of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday preceding his Crucifixion. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, he was received as the spiritual King of Israel and honoured with palm leaves. Artists through the ages have depicted variations on this particular scene in Christ's life, before his death and resurrection leading up to Easter. In Souza's painting, Christ holds a... Christ on Palm Sunday is Souza's interpretation of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday preceding his Crucifixion. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, he was received as the spiritual King of Israel and honoured with palm leaves. Artists through the ages have depicted variations on this particular scene in Christ's life, before his death and resurrection leading up to Easter. In Souza's painting, Christ holds a palm leaf, a symbol of honour reserved for the most venerable, and seen as an ancient Roman symbol of victory. Yet the tone of the painting is far from jubilatory, as depicted by other European artists. Souza's narrow canvas is filled by a portrait of Christ, whose arms appear rigidly crossed over one another. Christ's face bears the marks characteristic of Souza's many portrait paintings: pock-marks, eyes placed high in the forehead, and sharp, angular lines like creases on his face. The black eyes, dishevelled hair and crown of thorns portend the events that will lead to his Crucifixion.

Souza visited the theme of Palm Sunday several times in his oeuvre. The influence of the Roman Catholic Church on his artistic output is ever-present. He frequently painted Jesus and his disciples, towering priests in birettas and chasubles, saints and prophets, and religious objects through a lens that juxtaposed satire and awe. "There is a religious quality about his work which is medieval in its simplicity and in its unsophisticated sense of wonder. Some of the most moving of Souza's paintings are those which convey a spirit of awe in the presence of a divine power-a God, who is not a God of gentleness and love, but rather of suffering, vengeance and of terrible anger. In his religious work there is a quality of fearfulness and terrible grandeur which even Rouault and Sutherland have not equalled in this century." (Edwin Mullins, Souza, London: Anthony Blond Ltd., 1962, p. 40) The fearfulness, though understated in the present lot, is palpable in his treatment of Christ.

In Souza's own words, "The Roman Catholic church had a tremendous influence over me, not its dogmas but its grand architecture and the splendour of its services. The priest dressed in richly embroidered vestments, each of his garments from the biretta to the chasuble symbolising the accoutrement of Christ's passion. The wooden saints painted with gold and bright colours staring vacantly out of their niches. The smell of incense. And the enormous crucifix with the impaled image of Man supposed to be the Son of God, scourged and dripping, with matted hair tangled in plaited thorns." (F N Souza, Words and Lines, London: Villiers Publications Ltd., 1959, p. 10) This vivid description manifests quite evidently in Christ on Palm Sunday in the vacant stare, matted hair and plaited thorns-an image that remained with Souza decades after his first encounters with the Roman Catholic Church in Goa "which gave him his first ideas of images and image-making." (Mullins, p. 14)

The creation of Christ on Palm Sunday coincides with a golden phase in Souza's career in London. He shot to fame after his autobiographical essay, Nirvana of a Maggot, was published in 1955. Around the same time, he held a highly successful exhibition in London, organised by Victor Musgrave, owner of Gallery One. Over the next five years, Souza had a series of solo exhibitions at Gallery One, where his works were purchased by enthusiastic collectors, including one of his most important patrons, Harold Kovner. In 1967, Souza got married and left London for the United States. He was invited to Michigan by Eugene Schuster, who was the owner of the newly opened London Gallery, where he organized one of the greatest Souza shows to date. In addition to the present lot, Schuster's seminal show included several significant early Souza works, including what are now considered masterpieces - Birth and Lovers - which have set records in recent years. The art world in the United States however, had moved in a different direction by then, and the Schuster show was not a success. The only painting that sold was the present lot, Christ on Palm Sunday. It is thus an extremely important work, both historically in the context of Souza's career and also for its unique depiction of a theme visited by artists around the world through the ages.

Extended caption for the references images:

Artists through the ages have chosen to depict this scene in Christ's life.

(Titian and Rembrandt)

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