Important Notice

Lot 25

"The extra beat of my heart Sneaks out of the thatched and throbbing Earth tones. And tells The deaf winds... Take me to any part of my grave... And it does not belong to the tale... just finished."
- M F HUSAIN

The human figure has been the primary focus of Husain's art, and "the vehicle for his exploration of the nature and drama of reality." (Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S Kapur, Husain, New York: Harry N Abrams,... "The extra beat of my heart Sneaks out of the thatched and throbbing Earth tones. And tells The deaf winds... Take me to any part of my grave... And it does not belong to the tale... just finished."
- M F HUSAIN

The human figure has been the primary focus of Husain's art, and "the vehicle for his exploration of the nature and drama of reality." (Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S Kapur, Husain, New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1972, p. 36) This is visible in the present lot, which depicts a fraught interaction between a male and a female figure. The impassioned atmosphere and tension is heightened by the artist's use of a bright red colour palette and heavy, expressive brushwork.

The female figure on the left, in particular, displays a sense of anguish that is typical of Husain's portrayal of women over the years. "The central concern of Husain's art, and its dominant motif, is woman... Spiritually, woman is more enduring. Pain comes naturally to her, as do compassion and a sense of the birth and death of things. In Husain's work, woman has the gift of eagerness... and an inward attentiveness, as if she were listening to the life coursing within her." (Bartholomew and Kapur, p. 46)

The figures in the present lot are characteristic of Husain's sculptural, delineated forms. His masterful handling of composition and colour was informed by his studies of miniature painting, classical sculpture, and his own travels and observations of rural and urban life. "Above all else, it was the line that was Husain's strongest element and he used it with a bounding energy in his work. The deft strokes that came from an early acquaintance with calligraphy now encased the figure in simple, economic points of intersection." (Yashodhara Dalmia, "A Metaphor for Modernity," The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 109) Through masterful strokes, the present lot conveys an array of emotions and forms, and is a fine example of Husain's ability to create art that was uniquely expressive of his own vision.

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