Maqbool Fida Husain

Private Collection of Vice Consul of Italy in Bombay in the 1950s

Thence by descent 

Christie's New York, 19 March 2009, lot 1055

The bold lines, infilled shapes and classic configuration of the current lot are highly indicative of Maqbool Fida Husain’s foundational work from the 1950s. Illustrating a transitional moment in the painter’s practice, the canvas exhibits elements of his earlier 50s works, inspired by the two-dimensionality of the artist’s cut-out toys, whilst showcasing the more sensuous, painterly rendition of the female form that Husain adopted in the 60s. The elegance and economy of line reflect the confidence of the artist, revealing a striking yet sensitively rendered protagonist.

The woman, a favored and familiar subject of the artist, is set apart from many of Husain's renditions of women, who are typically shown faceless or with their visages hidden or veiled. The almost tubular form of her figure mirrors that of the lamp beside her, and gives the woman a sculptural quality, rooting her within the scene. The woman and the lamp is a famous combination, established in Husain's iconic 1956 masterpiece Between The Spider And The Lamp. The lamp featured heavily in subsequent paintings by the artist and in his award-winning 1967 film Through the Eyes of a Painter.

'There is a phase of Husain's paintings around 1958 in which he deals for the first time with the question of individual identity. It is also at this time that he began painting portraits of individuals he knew and loved. The predominant images at this time have neither the dress nor the locale, nor the obvious characteristics of a traditional Indian figure. Evidently, he disengages the question of individual identity from that of the cultural identity of an Indian...'

(G. Kapur, 'Maqbool Fida Husain,' Contemporary Indian Artists, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 1978, p. 124)