Maya V

The present lot is part of a series of paintings that Maqbool Fida Husain executed in the 1970s. Husain was deeply inspired by depictions of Indian mythology in classical painting and sculpture. This painting, titled Maya V depicts a sitting, faceless figure of a woman, Husain could be referencing Maya, the Hindu goddess of illusion. With her face in the form of a gently swaying flower head, this could also be Husain’s interpretation of Queen Maya and the conception of Buddha. According to legend, the queen had a dream that she was being attended to by celestial beings who anointed her with perfume and bedecked her with divine flowers. The Buddha as a six-tusked white elephant holding a white lotus flower in its trunk entered her womb. Devoid of the grandeur that is often seen in the depictions of this story, Husain’s interpretation focuses purely on the vibrant color palette and the emotive use of form. In the monumental figure of Maya, Husain’s awareness of classical Indian sculpture is also evident.

The faceless female figure could also be an expression of Husain’s childhood experience of loss, as his mother died when he was just two years old. He recalls, “Can anyone make up for the loss of a mother? I don’t even have a picture of her. She refused to get herself photographed. In those days people were afraid of the camera. They thought it cast an evil eye and shortened life. Sadly, I have nothing which remotely resembles or reminds me of my mother. She is just a name to me, not even a memory.” (Artist Statement, Y. Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, New Delhi, 2001, p. 111)