Maqbool Fida Husain

Acquired directly from the artist, circa 1988-89

Throughout his career, Maqbool Fida Husain has repeatedly depicted horses in his works as symbols of power and wild, raw energy. An interest that began at a young age, the image of the horse is an icon both in Husain’s life and in Indian art. As a young boy, Husain’s grandfather took him to visit the local farrier, where he met horses of all types: thoroughbreds, polo ponies, cavalry horses and the common horse that pulled local carts. During the annual Muharram processions, he was immersed in the tazias of Imam Hussain’s faithful horse and the story of martyrdom.

As a young artist, Husain was ‘observing and drawing horses in their perfect form and likeness using coal or pieces of chalk on the walls of his school and in his notebooks.’ (R. Siddiqui, M.F. Husain: In Conversation with Husain Paintings, Books Today, New Delhi, 2001, p. 110)

So fascinated was Husain by the horse that the subject remained a leitmotif throughout his storied artistic career, appearing frequently in his paintings. These portrayals of animalistic beauty erupt across the canvas, as evidenced in the current lot. Untitled (Horse) explores sumptuous shades of blue, atop of which Husain renders the animal in bold black outlines. Its front legs face left, while the head turns over its shoulder, displaying a profile of a horse in motion and aware of its surroundings. The sun blazes a deep red color, in beautiful contrast to the cool tones of the composition.

As referenced by the red arrow piercing the horse’s buttocks, this work likely immortalizes the famed white horse (Duldul) that Husain commemorated since a young age during Muharram. Ambushed by a neighboring general, Imam Hussain and his companions were brutally attacked with a shower of arrows. This story became ingrained in Husain after he visited Iraq in 1965 and made a pilgrimage to Karbala to witness the battleground where Imam Hussain fell.