Important Notice

F N Souza’s artistic genius thrives on the breakthroughs achieved in formal exploration- distorted forms, striking brushstrokes, and an imaginative use of colour. Born in Goa, Souza moved to London in 1949 in search of better opportunities and lived there for almost two decades before moving to New York, in 1967, where he spent most of the rest of his life. Souza grew up vehemently against the hypocrisies of the church and used his art as a... F N Souza’s artistic genius thrives on the breakthroughs achieved in formal exploration- distorted forms, striking brushstrokes, and an imaginative use of colour. Born in Goa, Souza moved to London in 1949 in search of better opportunities and lived there for almost two decades before moving to New York, in 1967, where he spent most of the rest of his life. Souza grew up vehemently against the hypocrisies of the church and used his art as a means of critiquing the same. On moving to London, he was met by harsher circumstances, post-war gloom, societal unrest, and a rapidly changing environment. Aware of the worrying socio-political and scientific developments of the period, Souza employed his distorted portraits as a warning and as a space of introspection. Souza is thus described as a “painter of doom and destruction as seen from the inside of a suicidal civilization”. (Geeta Kapur, Contemporary Indian Artists, New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd, 1978, p. 26)

“It becomes increasingly clear [...] that Souza is concerned with creating a conditioned reflex in the mind of the spectator. Just as in the treatment of some aspects of pathology electrical shock is administered to make the patient’s mind function, Souza, too, subjects his audience to a kind of shock treatment. In fact, he makes the audience see the relationship between themselves and the subject matter” (R Bartholomew, ‘Souza’s Shock Treatment’, Times of India, 3 February 1973). F N Souza’s striking imagery was the inevitable expression of his scepticism towards society, which is noted best in his dynamic portraiture.

In the present lot, a figure sits in the centre of the canvas with its head turned towards the viewer, dominated with thick and strong outlines, which were becoming integral to Souza’s style. The pointed beard could possibly be a visual symbol, to depict saints as he had done in the past decade. The signature bare teeth are markers of Souza’s intentional satire and yet other features seem distinct from his other portraits- a single pair of eyes which are not hollow but are delineated with eyeballs and the colour that is a tinted muddy brown as opposed to the more common vivid hues.

The distorted visages of Souza’s subjects underwent gradual transformations in style and the present lot could be situated in a transitional phase between the cross-hatching technique that became the hallmark of his earlier works and later heads that featured loops, whorls, squiggles, and tubular formations. This semi fictional portrait is rich with Souza’s critique of human hypocrisy and decadence, making for portraits that are some of the most compelling works in the artists’ oeuvre.

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