Krishen Khanna (b. 1925)

The canvas has been restretched, relined and recently cleaned with several areas of retouching apparent under U.V. light. Fair overall condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present lot is from Krishen Khanna's 'Madras series,' executed in Madras in the 1950's as part of a group of paintings of musicians that were inspired by his interest in Carnatic music. A very similar work from the same series is illustrated in Gayatri Sinha, Krishen Khanna: A Critical Biography, New Delhi, 2001, p. 52. 'His attempt was to transform the creation of rhythmic sound in time, into the movement of brush in space, on canvas.' (ibid, p. 48). During the same period Khanna also produced a number of figurative works of women. His paintings from Madras have a distinctive palette of white, brown and black, 'Krishen reacted to the colours of Madras, the strong nearly white light... the young girl, her body baked brown in the sun.' (ibid, p. 49). Geeta Kapur identifies a detachment in his depiction of women 'It is the inherent inclinations of his element that ask and receive the grace of a woman's form, but her presence still remains elusive. The commitment is not to human evocation as to pure aesthetic form.' (Indian Express, 1967).