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Husain's first and meeting with Mother Teresa made a tremendous impact that is manifested in the numerous paintings he has done with her as the central subject. The first of these was painted in 1980. "Husain collected the inky darkness of obscurity into the folds of white clothes and created a metaphor by infusing his feelings of deep reverence into the image created." (Rashda Siddiqui, In Conversation with Husain Paintings, New Delhi, 2001, p. 204.)
Though the composition and medium for the works may change, the constant theme is the "faceless woman clad in a white sari with a blue border." (Yashodhara Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art, The Progressives, New Delhi, 2001, p. 116.) She is sometimes shown with children in her lap or gathered around her.
The artist states: "I have tried to capture in my paintings what her presence meant to the destitute and the dying, the light and hope she brought by mere inquiry, by putting her hand over a child abandoned in the street... That is why I try it again and again, after a gap of time, in a different medium." (As told to Ila Pal, Beyond the Canvas, New Delhi, 1994.) The effect was particularly poignant as Husain had also lost his own mother at a young age. To watch her exhibiting enormous love and compassion for the children would "fill him with an immense agony and ecstasy to an ultimate devouring darkness." (Rashda Siddiqui, ibid.)
Elements borrowed from Medieval and Renaissance art also appear in works from this series. On a visit to Florence, Husain studied several images of saints, where details of the face were overlooked in favor of a more detailed representation of the folds and contours of their clothing and robes as seen in lot 159. This is reinforced by the particular placement of the Mother beneath a Gothic arch and bright areas of color that collectively recall the effects of stained glass.
His compositions were also influenced by scenes from the life of Christ. In lot 160, the iconography is similar to that of the Pieta, where the child lies across the lap of Mother Teresa, similar to the body of Christ in the arms of the Virgin Mary.
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MAQBOOL FIDA HUSAIN (B. 1915)
Mother Teresa
Details
MAQBOOL FIDA HUSAIN (B. 1915)
Mother Teresa
Signed 'Husain' upper left
Acrylic on canvas
64¼ x 25¼ in. (163.2 x 64.1 cm.)
Mother Teresa
Signed 'Husain' upper left
Acrylic on canvas
64¼ x 25¼ in. (163.2 x 64.1 cm.)