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Lot Essay
From 1949 until his first solo show with Gallery One in 1955, Francis Newton Souza struggled to find an audience for his work in the U.K. Post-War London was not the romanticised melting pot of creative and artistic acceptance that Souza had envisioned. However, during this time, Souza spent many days fine-tuning his draughtsmanship at the Central School of Art and viewing as much art as possible in London's museums. Souza's encounter with works by European master painters during these early years sparked the beginning of a unique synthesis of western modernism and classical Indian art in his work, being particularly influenced by South Indian bronzes and the erotic temple sculptures of Khajurhao, which he believed were the finest examples of India's own artistic heritage.
From 1951, this painting is a solemn portrait of an unidentifiable but distinctly Indian woman. Unlike many of Souza's depictions of women, this painting is a far-cry from the hyper-sexualised figures that often populate his canvases. Bearing some technical and thematic resemblences to Pablo Picasso's Plant de tomates, 1944, painted during World War II in occupied France, Souza's painting similarly evokes a rare sense of innocence and hope.
The tall, sturdy tomato plant in both paintings is a symbol for the inner resilience of the human spirit and an earthy metaphor for the human need to survive and flourish. The soft features and gentle expression of Souza's woman reveals his uneasiness with London life and resonates with a powerful nostalgia for his homeland of India. The brilliant vermillion of the ripe fruit set against the earthy background, the diamond faceted leaves referencing the hint toward Cubism in Plant de tomates, the overall sculptural economy of line, the woman's high rounded breasts and delicately decorated neckline are in keeping with Souza's unmistakable assimilation of classical Indian sculpture and European modernism, as well as his life-long obsession with the magnitude of Picasso's artistic achievements.
From 1951, this painting is a solemn portrait of an unidentifiable but distinctly Indian woman. Unlike many of Souza's depictions of women, this painting is a far-cry from the hyper-sexualised figures that often populate his canvases. Bearing some technical and thematic resemblences to Pablo Picasso's Plant de tomates, 1944, painted during World War II in occupied France, Souza's painting similarly evokes a rare sense of innocence and hope.
The tall, sturdy tomato plant in both paintings is a symbol for the inner resilience of the human spirit and an earthy metaphor for the human need to survive and flourish. The soft features and gentle expression of Souza's woman reveals his uneasiness with London life and resonates with a powerful nostalgia for his homeland of India. The brilliant vermillion of the ripe fruit set against the earthy background, the diamond faceted leaves referencing the hint toward Cubism in Plant de tomates, the overall sculptural economy of line, the woman's high rounded breasts and delicately decorated neckline are in keeping with Souza's unmistakable assimilation of classical Indian sculpture and European modernism, as well as his life-long obsession with the magnitude of Picasso's artistic achievements.