Tyeb Mehta

Collection of Maqbool Fida Husain
Acquired from the above by Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi
Acquired from the above in 2002

Craquelere is noticeable in areas of impasto on the lower body and legs of the bull. Paint appears to be lifting from the canvas in a tiny area in gray on the upper left, adjacent to the head of the bull. This area could benefit from a light consolidation. Two further areas of retouching to gray in the same part of the painting are visible under ultra violet light. This work is exhibited in a temporary frame but comes with a simple black metal frame. Colors appear more saturated in print than in reality.
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Tyeb Mehta’s exploration of the bull and its imagery in all of its forms comes full circle throughout his decades-long artistic career. The majestic and tortured animal serves as a symbol for humanity in his works. “I was on the fringes of the Progressive Artist Group….We were passing through difficult times – the pre-Partition riots in Bombay and then the massacre that followed independence. This trauma and anguish unknowingly became the content of my work…. I was looking for an image to express this anguish and, years later, I found it in the British Museum. I was fascinated by the image of the trussed bull in the Egyptian bas-relief and created my first major painting, The Trussed Bull, 1956.” (N. Adajania, ‘Tonalities: A Conversation with Tyeb Mehta,’ Tyeb Mehta: Ideas, Images, Exchanges, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2010, p. 337)
“The trussed bull, earliest of Tyeb’s abiding concerns, was inspired by a visit to an abattoir. The artist saw the animals being tied up and then slaughtered, and the vision obsessed him thereafter. The idea of such a strong animal rendered helpless became for him symbolic of attacks on the spirit in general. After traveling to England and observing tendencies in the European art, he developed an expressionist, gestural style, which involved applying paint thickly for immediate emotional impact. This phase of Tyeb’s art is often said to be deeply influenced by the English painter Francis Bacon. (Girish Shahane, Tyeb Mehta July 26, 1925- July 2, 2009, http://girishshahane.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/tyeb-mehta-july-26-1925-july-2-2009.html, 2009) The present painting is a prime example of this early phase in Tyeb Mehta’s work when he was residing in England from 1960-1964. Here one can see the meticulous layering of texture and pigment. With its gestural application of paint in thick impastoed brushstrokes, the fleshy earthen tones conjure a rotting carcass in relief. This carnal depiction of the bull in a verdant meadow is amongst the earliest interpretations of a theme to which he would continually return in differing media ranging from painting to sculpture to film. “In the early work, expression was all important. I did not yet have the technical means, hadn’t developed an understanding of the language of painting. Expressionism appeals to the viewer directly…Munch, Kokoschka, Emil Nolde weren’t painters in the tradition of painting, they were ‘gut’ painters. I was painting from the gut.” (‘Tyeb Mehta in Conversation with Nikki Ty-Tomplins Seth,’ Tyeb Mehta: Ideas, Images, Exchanges, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2010, p. 341)
In 1970, Mehta made a brief return to his first career as a film-maker, writing and directing the award-winning film, Koodal (35mm, B/W film, 16min 16 sec) from a commission by the Government of India Film Division. “Mehta combined imagery of the city, people, and cattle. Sleeping civilians, workers, merchants, rugby players, dancers, and hijras are present in the film. There is no dialogue or narration, only a composed score featuring chants, drums, and a surreal sitar. The combination of instruments creates a hypnotic soundscape and rhythm.  Fast paced edits give the impression of a bustling city while slower paced edits reveal moments of daily life without interruption. The intercutting between people and animals unifies them as living creatures populating the city. Perhaps the most striking image of the film comes in a long exposure long shot of a slaughtered bull falling to the ground. By witnessing the bull fall in blurred, repeated frames, Mehta invokes a sense of terror. Juxtaposed against the images of living cattle and the final dolly shot of a Nandi Bull, the slaughtered bull serves as a metaphor for Indians’ fear of restriction and lack of control in their daily lives.” (G. Ezzone, Koodal by Tyeb Mehta, http://facets.org/blog/film_portal/koodal/, 2014)