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Lot 84

 

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"Husain's painted horses do not just bear majestic stateliness and striking beauty but also come alive in every mood, situation and form. Their forceful movement conveys so much that it carries us away with it" (Rashda Siddiqui, In Conversation with Husain Paintings, Books Today, New Delhi, 2001, p. 112).

Since the early 1950s, when he first painted the animal, the image of the horse has always remained a powerful motif in M.F.... "Husain's painted horses do not just bear majestic stateliness and striking beauty but also come alive in every mood, situation and form. Their forceful movement conveys so much that it carries us away with it" (Rashda Siddiqui, In Conversation with Husain Paintings, Books Today, New Delhi, 2001, p. 112).

Since the early 1950s, when he first painted the animal, the image of the horse has always remained a powerful motif in M.F. Husain's expansive oeuvre. His various encounters with the figure of the horse extend across several decades, beginning as early as his childhood in Indore, spent in the company of his grandfather's friend, Acchan Mian the farrier, and extending to the work of traditional Chinese artists like Xu Beihong and contemporary European artists including Franz Marc and Marino Marini that he encountered on his travels across the world.

In Indian mythology, the horse is revered as a symbol of the sun, of power, knowledge and fertility. Similarly, Husain's horses are always depicted as strong and free-willed creatures, worthy of all their mythical and ritualistic symbolism. In the present lot, the artist uses a spare palette to capture a white stallion charging towards the viewer. Against a black and white orb, perhaps representative of the sun and the moon, the animal represents a compelling combination of strength and grace, of masculine and feminine attributes, that has sustained Husain's lifelong interest in the equine figure.

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