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Lot Essay
Writing about Souza's cityscapes, fellow artist Jagdish Swaminathan noted that these paintings were "singularly devoid of emotive inhibitions." They reminded him of "congealed visions of a mysterious world. Whether standing solidly in enamelled petrification or delineated in thin colour with calligraphic intonations, the cityscapes of Souza are purely plastic entities with no reference to memories or mirrors." (J. Swaminathan, 'Souza's Exhibition', Lalit Kala Contemporary 40, New Delhi, March 1995, p. 31)
In landscapes such as this one, painted in 1961, Souza effectively demonstrates the inherent tension between nature and civilization. His paintings, which often depict natural elements like trees as foes of manmade structures, are treatises on the powers of God, man and the natural world. Rooftops cut sharply into the ochre sky, suggesting not harmony but a tumultuous battle between dissonant elements, emphasized through the violent brushstroke and dramatic palette. Juxtaposing naturalism with reverential expression, Souza represents the landscape as a sublime scene of primordial power.
In landscapes such as this one, painted in 1961, Souza effectively demonstrates the inherent tension between nature and civilization. His paintings, which often depict natural elements like trees as foes of manmade structures, are treatises on the powers of God, man and the natural world. Rooftops cut sharply into the ochre sky, suggesting not harmony but a tumultuous battle between dissonant elements, emphasized through the violent brushstroke and dramatic palette. Juxtaposing naturalism with reverential expression, Souza represents the landscape as a sublime scene of primordial power.