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Lot Essay
“For Husain, the horse seems to stand for super-human forces, powerful not only for its stampeding arrogance, but because of its greater sophistication. Only sometimes, with a surcharged confidence in man, a hand held aloft or a suggestive lance, matches or halts its force.” (G. Kapur, Husain, Mumbai, 1968, p. 41)
In this large work, painted in 1979, the bodies of four bucking and rearing horses are dramatically intertwined against a backdrop transforming from fiery orange to deep crimson in the light of the setting sun. While the animals seem eager to chase the sun as it dips below the horizon, they wait for sanction from the larger-than-life male figure who stands in front of them, reminiscent of Husain’s grandfather, Dada Abdul, who appears in several of the artist’s autobiographical paintings. Bearded and prophet-like, he effortlessly controls the raw power of these dynamic beasts, able to halt, channel and release it at will.
In addition to its animated composition, the scale of this painting endows it with a theatricality that may be traced to Husain’s long association with cinema and his first job as a painter of cinema billboards in Bombay. Aided by the artist’s vivid and starkly contrasting palette, this monumental painting succeeds in creating a sense of awe and reverence in the viewer.
Please refer to lots 416, 436, and 442 for a further discussion of the significance of the horse in Husain's oeuvre.
In this large work, painted in 1979, the bodies of four bucking and rearing horses are dramatically intertwined against a backdrop transforming from fiery orange to deep crimson in the light of the setting sun. While the animals seem eager to chase the sun as it dips below the horizon, they wait for sanction from the larger-than-life male figure who stands in front of them, reminiscent of Husain’s grandfather, Dada Abdul, who appears in several of the artist’s autobiographical paintings. Bearded and prophet-like, he effortlessly controls the raw power of these dynamic beasts, able to halt, channel and release it at will.
In addition to its animated composition, the scale of this painting endows it with a theatricality that may be traced to Husain’s long association with cinema and his first job as a painter of cinema billboards in Bombay. Aided by the artist’s vivid and starkly contrasting palette, this monumental painting succeeds in creating a sense of awe and reverence in the viewer.
Please refer to lots 416, 436, and 442 for a further discussion of the significance of the horse in Husain's oeuvre.