Maqbool Fida Husain (b. 1915)

The horse in Indian mythology symbolizes the sun, because seven horses pulled the chariot of the sun god Surya.  Husain, it seems, has adopted the horse as his own vahan, or vehicle and it is one of his most enduring themes.  The artist once said, 'Art has to evolve from your very being, like my horses are classical, because I see them as ageless and immortal.  They draw chariots in the great epics, they stand proudly in the poorest stables, they are embodiments of strength like the dragons of China.' (Husain in conversation with Khalid Mohammed, 2002).