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Lot Essay
Elder was painted only two years after Souza arrived in London. He struggled in these years as a young Goan in London aspiring to be a successful painter.
Elder was perhaps a product of a nostalgic yearning for home as this figure is reminiscent of the catholic clergy so prominent in Portuguese Goa during his childhood. "The Roman Catholic Church had a tremendous influence over me, not its dogmas but its grand architecture and the splendour of its services. The priest dressed in richly embroiled vestments, each of his garments from the biretta to the chasuble symbolising the accoutrement of Christ's passion." (F. N Souza, 'A Fragment of Autobiography', Words & Lines, 1997, New Delhi, p.10)
This painting is also reminiscent of works by French painter Georges Rouault, particularly his half-length Old King from 1916. Souza pays homage to the artist not only in choice of subject, but also in palette and sentiment - epitomized by the thick impastos and rich coloring which is reminiscent of stained glass windows. Souza successfully imbues the work with the same melancholic grandeur for which Rouault was renowned.
Elder was perhaps a product of a nostalgic yearning for home as this figure is reminiscent of the catholic clergy so prominent in Portuguese Goa during his childhood. "The Roman Catholic Church had a tremendous influence over me, not its dogmas but its grand architecture and the splendour of its services. The priest dressed in richly embroiled vestments, each of his garments from the biretta to the chasuble symbolising the accoutrement of Christ's passion." (F. N Souza, 'A Fragment of Autobiography', Words & Lines, 1997, New Delhi, p.10)
This painting is also reminiscent of works by French painter Georges Rouault, particularly his half-length Old King from 1916. Souza pays homage to the artist not only in choice of subject, but also in palette and sentiment - epitomized by the thick impastos and rich coloring which is reminiscent of stained glass windows. Souza successfully imbues the work with the same melancholic grandeur for which Rouault was renowned.