Lot 71

 

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Souza’s interest in technology and scientific advances was second only to his interest in art. Working primarily from his studio, he employed this specially designed projector to develop large-scale compositions. In a 1964 issue of Studio, artist and writer Mervyn Levy described this device as an “essential, and now indispensable limb of his art.” (Mervyn Levy, “F N Souza: The Human and the Divine. The Artist at Work”, Studio, Vol... Souza’s interest in technology and scientific advances was second only to his interest in art. Working primarily from his studio, he employed this specially designed projector to develop large-scale compositions. In a 1964 issue of Studio, artist and writer Mervyn Levy described this device as an “essential, and now indispensable limb of his art.” (Mervyn Levy, “F N Souza: The Human and the Divine. The Artist at Work”, Studio, Vol 167 Number 852, April 1964, p. 136) Using this apparatus, Souza would place a photograph under a transparency to make a preliminary drawing, which was then magnified and projected onto the canvas. He would trace the image onto the canvas with charcoal. This method allowed him to build complex compositions without losing the spontaneity of his initial idea. As the artist himself noted, “I work a lot from photographs. My figure drawings and paintings are often adapted from commonplace pin-ups... And I often paint my landscapes from photographs. Or rather I begin to paint them from photographs... Naturally, of course, I also draw from models a great deal; but photographs frequently act as the spring-board into a subject.” (Artist quoted in Studio, Vol 167 Number 852, April 1964, pp. 135-136)

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