Important Notice

Lot 68

 

Quick Zoom

“Husain’s horses become a vehicle for multiple utterances-aggression, power and protection... the brute strength of horses born and released from fabulous regions mutate into thunderbolt energies, phallic and omnipotent.”

Few subjects occupied M F Husain’s imagination as powerfully as the horse. First appearing in his work in the early 1950s, it went on to become one of the most persistent and defining subjects of his artistic... “Husain’s horses become a vehicle for multiple utterances-aggression, power and protection... the brute strength of horses born and released from fabulous regions mutate into thunderbolt energies, phallic and omnipotent.”

Few subjects occupied M F Husain’s imagination as powerfully as the horse. First appearing in his work in the early 1950s, it went on to become one of the most persistent and defining subjects of his artistic career. Under his swift, confident brush the animal transcended its corporeal form to become a personal symbol and archetypal representation of power, grace, and vitality. Art historian Yashodhara Dalmia likened Husain’s bond with the horse to the divine connection between a deity and its “vehicle” or mount, commonly referenced in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. “If Husain darts about countries and continents as if on a flying chariot it is not surprising since the horse is his vahan. His biographers contend that the alchemy between the artist and the horse exists much like the animals of gods who reflect the essential characteristics of their master and sometimes the transformed master himself.” (Yashodhara Dalmia, “M.F. Husain: Re-inventing India”, M. F. Husain: Early Masterpieces 1950s - 70s, London: Asia House Gallery.)

Husain drew his pictorial vocabulary from childhood encounters with the elegant tonga horses of the Maharaja of Indore’s cavalry and the stylised Duldul or tazia, the effigy of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussain’s horse carried through the streets during Muharram processions. As he travelled widely from the 1950s onwards, these impressions expanded to include global influences such as mythological beasts like the Ashwamedha of the Mahabharata; the terracotta Bankura horses of West Bengal; the pottery horses of the Tang dynasty; the equine Chinese ink paintings of Xu Beihong and Qi Baishi; the blue steeds of German Blaue Reiter artist Franz Marc; and Marino Marini’s equestrian sculptures. Through the artist’s modernist eye, these pictorial cues coalesced into what critic Shiv Kapur described as “subterranean creatures” instantly recognisable by their dynamic forms that appear in perpetual motion. “...the manes, the fury, the working buttocks, the prancing legs, and the strong neighing heads with dilated nostrils are blocks of colour which are vivid or tactile or are propelled in their significant progression by strokes of the brush or sweeps of the palette knife. The activity depicted is transformed in the activity of paint.” (Richard Bartholomew, Husain, Richard Bartholomew and Shiv Kapur, New York, 1971, p. 20)

The imprint of Chinese ink paintings is particularly evident in the present lot, painted in the decades following his first trip to China in 1952. Angular contours animate the horses with a raw vitality. Their forms are defined by precise calligraphic strokes that subtly bleed across the surface, mimicking the effect of ink washes. Even the brightly coloured background appears muted by a similar effect. The lineage of Xu Beihong’s dynamic galloping horses and Qi Baishi’s virtuoso calligraphic strokes, which Husain studied during his visit, clearly runs through his brush. As critic Susan Bean notes, the Chinese horse gave Husain “a means to imbue his horses with the expressive quality of line and form that matched his imagination[...] Husain infused his horses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon- like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.” (Susan S Bean, “East Meets East in Husain’s Horses”, Lightning by M F Husain, New York: TamarindArt in association with Asia Society Museum New York and Mapin Publishing, 2019, pp. 42-43) Husain’s horses from the 1970s, like the ones in the present lot, also display a deep, restless energy that was only hinted at in his works from the 1950s and 1960s. As Daniel Herwitz suggests, this may have been reflective of the tumultuous political climate of India at the time.

Across mythologies, horses have been recognised as symbols of the sun and associated with life itself. The red orb in this composition may evoke this solar symbolism, which is further emphasised by the yellows and reds in the background. Remarking on this association, critic Geeta Kapur writes, “Poetically the horse is a solar symbol, leading the chariot of the sun-god across the blazing skies. This is the spirit of Husain’s horses, proud and dynamic, whichever context he may place them in [...] For Husain, the horse seems to stand for super-human forces, powerful not only for its stampeding arrogance, but because of its greater sophistication.” (Geeta Kapur, “Analytical Notes on Plates Illustrating Chronological Development of Husain’s Art”, Dr Mulk Raj Anand ed., Husain: Sadanga Series by Vakils, Bombay: Vakils, p. 41)

Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in: this auction  |  entire site