Exhibitions

Lot 28

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F N Souza
Last Howl from the Cross

- The Roman Catholic Church, which dominated religious life in Goa, Souza’s birthplace, had a significant effect on the artist’s life and work. The many churches of the former Portuguese colony, with their overwhelming architecture and impressive rituals, left a lasting impression on him: Souza was fascinated by the splendour of the services, their pomp and ceremony, their use of elaborate ornate symbols, and the grandeur of the priest’s robes and vestments. The icons of suffering saints, and the image of Christ martyred on the cross also deeply affected the artist, repeatedly appearing in his work, albeit in altered forms, throughout his painterly career.

Souza, however, soon came to see the dogma of the Church as hypocritical and repressive, and the institution’s use of guilt in manipulating its congregations as sordid. Although he became increasingly adverse to the ideals of Catholicism, his body of work was consumed by depictions of what he understood to be the religion’s subversive influence. Sometimes the impact of Catholicism in Souza’s paintings is subtle, a sacred chalice in a still life, or a series of martyr’s thorns protruding from a head. In others, like this epic canvas, Souza confronts the Church and its teachings head on.

In this revolutionary piece, the iconic image of Christ’s crucifixion is rendered with malevolence rather than empathy. The gaunt martyr appears grotesque with his bared, fang-like teeth, vacant eyes and tangled, spiked hair. Like the figure they supposedly mourn, Souza has disfigured and distorted the men and women at the base of the cross, who appear to be heckling rather than grieving for the crucified figure. Thus, the mood set by the artist is one of revulsion rather than piety, recalling medieval scenes of heretics burning at the stake.

Initially exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery, London, in 1964 in a show titled ‘The Human and the Divine Predicament’, this canvas resembles Souza’s contentious 1959 painting, ‘Crucifixion’, which is currently part of the Tate’s permanent collection. - The Roman Catholic Church, which dominated religious life in Goa, Souza’s birthplace, had a significant effect on the artist’s life and work. The many churches of the former Portuguese colony, with their overwhelming architecture and impressive rituals, left a lasting impression on him: Souza was fascinated by the splendour of the services, their pomp and ceremony, their use of elaborate ornate symbols, and the grandeur of the priest’s robes

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Lot 28 of 42

F.N. SOUZA EXHIBITION

ARTWORK DETAILS

F N Souza
Last Howl from the Cross
Signed and dated in English (upper left)
1963
Oil on canvas
61 x 42 in (154.9 x 106.7 cm)
If you are interested in this work, please contact [email protected] for further details.
Category: Painting
Style: Figurative

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Lot 28 of 42

ARTWORK DETAILS