Krishen Khanna (b. 1925)

The present painting belongs to a series based on social satire and political protest titled The Dead and the Dying. The trauma of social and political changes; the tensions of a feudal, caste ridden, tradition bound society transforming itself into a secular, democratic ideal; the violence and bitterness of internal divisions and of economic uncertainity are the main concern in this series which writhes with a sense of humiliation, despair and anger. In The End the human figure, bandaged and trapped is faceless and inhabits a shadowy space.

According to the artist, 'War; poverty on a nightmarish scale; social disharmony; economic instability; rampant corruption; the unabashed lust for political power; a cynical educational system which denies growth and subserves the process of moral decay; a stultifying bureaucracy impervious to change... are some of the factors that lend to the violence , bitterness, frustration and anger reflected in contemporary art.' (India: Myth and Reality: Aspects of Modern Indian Art, Oxford, 1982, p. 26.)