Lot 6
  • 6

Abdur Rahman Chughtai (1894 - 1975)

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Abdur Rahman Chughtai
  • Untitled (Kunti)
  • Signed in Urdu center right
  • Mixed media on paper
  • 27 1/4 by 22 1/2 in. (69.3 by 57.1 cm)

Provenance

Gifted by the artist to the Hon. Habib-ur Rahman, former Minister of Education, Pakistan
Thence by descent

Condition

Good overall condition. Some buckling to paper through the center and lower right. Some apparent inpainting previously done to small areas in blue to the left of the figure, green background upper right, and a few small areas in green ground. Colors sligthly brighter than in catalogue illustration.
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.

Catalogue Note

Celebrated as the 'National Artist' of Pakistan, Abdur Rahman Chughtai evolved a new style of painting in Lahore in the early twentieth century. Chughtai led a group of artists known as the Lahore Orientalists who attempted to formulate their own version of a 'National' art style in response to the alternative, 'Pan Asian' vision championed by the Bengal School.

Chughtai fused influences from sources as diverse as Mughal and Pahari miniatures, Old Master paintings and etchings, Japanese prints and Impressionist and Art Nouveau styles to forge a unique brand of modernism infused with symbolic elements that had roots in the classical Islamic and Indian traditions.

His intense yet lyrical paintings portrayed icons from Islamic literature and history, characters from beloved Punjabi folk tales and Hindu and Buddhist mythological themes as seen in the present painting. The legendary story of Princess Kunti, future mother of the Pandavas, abandoning her firstborn Karna conceived out of wedlock, on a riverbank is poignantly related in the epic Mahabharata. The artist captures the pathos of this iconic moment with great sensitivity depicting the mother's anguish as she places her child in a basket and floats it into the river.