Sayed Haider Raza

Saffronart, June 6, 2007, lot 70

Good overall condition, as viewed. Colors are brighter than in catalogue illustration. This work has recently been cleaned and lightly varnished.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Throughout his career Raza has been influenced by the mystical power of nature. The elements and the potency of colours and symbols to represent these elements are central to the evolution of Raza's artistic vocabulary. 

Raza's abstract landscapes of the 1970s and early 1980s were influenced not only by the French countryside, but also represented a visual expression of the artist's own meditations, clearly inspired by childhood memories of India. "Sometime between 1975 and 1980, I began to feel the draw of my Indian heritage. I thought: I come from India, I have a different vision; I should incorporate what I have learned in France with Indian concepts. In this period, I visited India every year to study Indian philosophy, iconography, magic diagrams (yantras), and ancient Indian art, particularly Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain art. I was impressed by paintings from Basholi, Malwa, and Mewar, and began combining colours in a manner that echoed Indian miniature painting." (SH Raza in conversation with Amrita Jhaveri, Sotheby's Preview, March/April 2007 p. 57). 

"It was I think in 1980 and ’81 that from the black bindu emerged colours in all their vitality and significance ... I had a feeling it was a new life beginning ... The technical command learnt earlier was now used to express a new sensibility and my own perception of things. Paintings done between the 80s and now appear to me the most convincing part of my work ... I was suggesting an inner climate which I experienced at the centre, with the sum total of living experience that could come out on the canvas and that could be the suggestion of what was intrinsically important in life experience.’ (SH Raza and A. Vajpeyi, Passion: Life and Art of Raza, New Delhi, 2005, p. 75)