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Lot Essay
Born in Goa, Francis Newton Souza moved to London in 1949, remaining there for almost two decades until he moved to New York, where he lived for the rest of his life. It was in London in the mid-1950s, that Souza’s reputation was firmly cemented, winning him both critical acclaim and steady patronage. Widely regarded as the apex of his artistic career, the late 1950s saw Souza truly coming into his own. Listed among the most exciting young painters in London, this was the decade in which he embarked on some of his most ambitious and fruitful artistic projects.
This large scale double-portrait from 1959 is characterized by powerful lines and a strong palette, and offers Souza’s critique of the hypocritical practices of ‘men of faith’ and those in positions of wealth and power, who he considered avaricious, exploitative and ‘soulless’. The countenance of the male figure on the right is mask-like, his eyes set high in his forehead, nose tubular and elongated, and barred teeth which “stretch like hair combs across the face”. (E. Mullins, Souza, London, 1962, p. 39) Wearing an ornate red tunic with an exaggerated collar, it is likely Souza intended him to represent a member of the clergy.
“A growing skill in expressing the grotesque allowed Souza to dwell on the cunning manipulation by the rich, thereby extending his liturgy of the decadent […] As the very morphology of the face begins to form, one marvels at the simplicity of means by which this is achieved. The etiological basis of Souza’s demonic faces consists of two parallel lines cross-hatched on either side like harpooning spears […] The dénouement of the upper classes, with their underlying violence masked by vestments of polite behavior, is complete […] Deploying his faces, as it were, to expose the larger hypocrisy of nations […] the essential condition of human beings, of men without redemption.” (Y. Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 82-84)
In stark contrast, the more diminutive female figure on the left of the composition is rendered compassionately, her features soft and her figure almost glowing against the shadowy background. Apart from a pendant around her neck, she is wearing nothing. Together, the figures suggest an oppressive and unequal relationship, where a beautiful younger woman is forced to accompany an older man only because of his social position.
This large scale double-portrait from 1959 is characterized by powerful lines and a strong palette, and offers Souza’s critique of the hypocritical practices of ‘men of faith’ and those in positions of wealth and power, who he considered avaricious, exploitative and ‘soulless’. The countenance of the male figure on the right is mask-like, his eyes set high in his forehead, nose tubular and elongated, and barred teeth which “stretch like hair combs across the face”. (E. Mullins, Souza, London, 1962, p. 39) Wearing an ornate red tunic with an exaggerated collar, it is likely Souza intended him to represent a member of the clergy.
“A growing skill in expressing the grotesque allowed Souza to dwell on the cunning manipulation by the rich, thereby extending his liturgy of the decadent […] As the very morphology of the face begins to form, one marvels at the simplicity of means by which this is achieved. The etiological basis of Souza’s demonic faces consists of two parallel lines cross-hatched on either side like harpooning spears […] The dénouement of the upper classes, with their underlying violence masked by vestments of polite behavior, is complete […] Deploying his faces, as it were, to expose the larger hypocrisy of nations […] the essential condition of human beings, of men without redemption.” (Y. Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 82-84)
In stark contrast, the more diminutive female figure on the left of the composition is rendered compassionately, her features soft and her figure almost glowing against the shadowy background. Apart from a pendant around her neck, she is wearing nothing. Together, the figures suggest an oppressive and unequal relationship, where a beautiful younger woman is forced to accompany an older man only because of his social position.