Maqbool Fida Husain

Unlike most of the other Progressives, Husain chose to remain in India and used the landscape and inhabitants as inspiration for his works. He traveled widely within the subcontinent, depicting various semi-abstract, dune-covered landscapes, most notably in his Rajasthan Series, painted in the 1950's and early 1960's.

Donkeys are not only ubiquitous beasts of burden, but also figured as popular elements in Sufi fables and tales that stressed the unity of humankind and the harmony of all elements in nature as ordained by the Creator. Executed with varying tones of intense yellows, this work is an excellent demonstration of his skill as a colorist.