.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Icons from Hindu religious texts and mythology were a recurring theme in Maqbool Fida Husain’s paintings. The artist started painting Indian gods and goddesses, reconfiguring them with his unique visual vocabulary, as early as the 1950s, and has been both praised and criticized for these portrayals.
The present lot, a dynamic painting of a seated female figure next to a tiger, is likely inspired by traditional depictions of the Goddess Durga. In Hinduism, Durga, also known as Shakti or Devi, is the protector of all that is good and harmonious in the world. She is usually portrayed in painting and sculpture riding a lion, with her multiple arms holding different weapons. Durga was created by the Hindu triumvirate or trimurti consisting of the three gods, Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, to slay the buffalo demon Mahisasura. In this work, both the goddess and her steed are portrayed in what appears to be a moment of pause. A glowing blue orb in front of the figures disrupts an otherwise largely monochromatic palette of reds and oranges. Both sun and moon, this likely references the cosmic, primordial energy that the goddess personifies.
One of Husain’s early explorations of the subject, the present lot was painted in the 1960s and underlines the artist’s virtuosic ability to synthesize classical Indian subject matter with his unique, modern aesthetic. The flattened abstracted forms and color bear similarity to European Modernist works by Fauvist or Post-Impressionist artists. However, Husain also drew influence from sources that were closer to home. His palette was strongly influenced by depictions of Indian mythology in classical painting and sculpture as well as by the styles of Mughal, Jain and Basholi miniature paintings. His use of vivid colors here bestows his subjects with a powerful emotive energy and highlights his interest in depicting women as protagonists in his work. Here, Husain’s subject is both goddess and everywoman, combining the mythical and mundane in the artist’s characteristic style.
The present lot, a dynamic painting of a seated female figure next to a tiger, is likely inspired by traditional depictions of the Goddess Durga. In Hinduism, Durga, also known as Shakti or Devi, is the protector of all that is good and harmonious in the world. She is usually portrayed in painting and sculpture riding a lion, with her multiple arms holding different weapons. Durga was created by the Hindu triumvirate or trimurti consisting of the three gods, Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, to slay the buffalo demon Mahisasura. In this work, both the goddess and her steed are portrayed in what appears to be a moment of pause. A glowing blue orb in front of the figures disrupts an otherwise largely monochromatic palette of reds and oranges. Both sun and moon, this likely references the cosmic, primordial energy that the goddess personifies.
One of Husain’s early explorations of the subject, the present lot was painted in the 1960s and underlines the artist’s virtuosic ability to synthesize classical Indian subject matter with his unique, modern aesthetic. The flattened abstracted forms and color bear similarity to European Modernist works by Fauvist or Post-Impressionist artists. However, Husain also drew influence from sources that were closer to home. His palette was strongly influenced by depictions of Indian mythology in classical painting and sculpture as well as by the styles of Mughal, Jain and Basholi miniature paintings. His use of vivid colors here bestows his subjects with a powerful emotive energy and highlights his interest in depicting women as protagonists in his work. Here, Husain’s subject is both goddess and everywoman, combining the mythical and mundane in the artist’s characteristic style.