Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002)

Thick application of paint within figure. Overall very good condition. Blues in background are stronger and colours are slightly brighter than the catalogue illustration.
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Throughout the 1950s and 1960s kings are a recurring theme in Souza's paintings. Kings and crowned figures have multiple symbolic references for the artist that relate variously to the figure of Christ, crowned with thorns, to pontius Pilate, to the mythical King Oedipus (see lot 21) or merely as symbols of authority. Critics have frequently suggested that Souza intends to question the divine right of kings or more generally the value of hierachical structures that are based on hereditary laws. In many instances, however, it appears that Souza identifies with his subjects often presenting them as tragic figures misunderstood by society, misrepresented by history and isolated from the world at large.   In this sense as a man with a self-confessed Oedipus complex who frequently felt that his own artistic genius or importance was unrecognised, they can perhaps be considered as alter-egos of the artist himself.  

In terms of structure the current painting continues to use basic compositional elements that appear frequently in the landscapes of the 1950s. The head is entirely built up from geometrical blocks of color enclosed by thick black contours  that are highlighted in some areas with cross-hatching or close parallel lines.  The features have become reduced to bare essentials and unlike earlier portraits there is little or no detailing on the figure itself, instead the scrolling forms frequently seen in the clothing of earlier figures have been transposed to a decorative element of the background .  In this sense the painting is part of a period of transition in Souza's painting from his highly structured forms of the 1950s to a more fluid style that continues to evolve for at least another decade.

Edwin Mullins states, 'Figurative art presents no problems for Souza because he has succeeded in creating images which are entirely personal, yet recognisable at the same time. They are often distorted to the point of destruction...grotesque faces with eyes anywhere and in any number...but they never threaten to dissolve into formalised abstract shapes.  The violence and speed with which they are executed keep these images, however distorted, in touch with the artist's vision of what they really are.' (Edwin Mullins, F. N. Souza, London, 1962, p. 37).