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Lot Essay
“My horses like lightning, cut across many horizons. Seldom their hooves are shown. They hop around the spaces. From the battlefield of 'Karbala' to Bankura terracotta, from the Chinese Tse pei Hung horse to St. Marco horse, from ornate armoured 'Duldul' to challenging white of 'Ashwamedh' [...] the cavalcade of my horses is multidimensional." (Artist statement, Husain, Mumbai, 1987, p. 83)
The muscular bodies of the two horses in this composition by Husain are carefully interwoven, as if caught in an intimate embrace. Perhaps representative of the duality between shadow and light, or day and night, these impressive beasts elegantly bend their heads towards each other as if acknowledging that they are paired for eternity. Making use of a wide field of references, Husain bestows the horses he paints with a powerful and evocative presence, representing his captivation with the equine figure since the early 1950s. Painted in the 1960s, this powerful and perfectly balanced composition testifies to the assured virtuosity of the artist’s hand, palette and vision.
The muscular bodies of the two horses in this composition by Husain are carefully interwoven, as if caught in an intimate embrace. Perhaps representative of the duality between shadow and light, or day and night, these impressive beasts elegantly bend their heads towards each other as if acknowledging that they are paired for eternity. Making use of a wide field of references, Husain bestows the horses he paints with a powerful and evocative presence, representing his captivation with the equine figure since the early 1950s. Painted in the 1960s, this powerful and perfectly balanced composition testifies to the assured virtuosity of the artist’s hand, palette and vision.