Syed Haider Raza (b. 1922)

Numerous faint cracks in central portion of thick paint and a couple in the top right. Small area of chipped paint and a superficial abrasion in the lower right corner. Overall paint appears stable and in good condition. Colours are slightly brighter than in the catalogue illustration.
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Upon his arrival in France in 1950, Raza was deeply influenced by the works of Modernist masters, especially Cézanne and Van Gogh, and his paintings over the next decade echo the structure and formalism of both these artists. Raza combined these impulses to forge a unique idiom where space and color seem to move and feed into each other. He turned for inspiration to the French countryside  to Provence and the Maritime Alps where '...the landscape with its trees, mountains, villages and churches became his staple diet.' (Yashodhara Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, New Delhi, 2001, p. 152).

In 1962, the year of the current work, Raza visited America and the same year also marked a shift in his prefered medium from oil to acrylic (see previous lot). The current work therefore possibly represents one of the last paintings produced in oil before this transition took place. Although it was likely to have been painted in America, the title reveals that the mountain villages of southern France remained his inspiration for the work. 'Be it village, town or church, the world according to Raza was aflame. It was being forged anew through the crucible of recollection - baptized through fire.' (Geeti Sen, Bindu, Space and Time in Raza's Vision, New Delhi, 1997, p. 66).