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拍品專文
Mother Teresa first appeared in Husain's work in 1980 soon after she received the Noble Peace Prize (1979) and the Bharat Ratna, India's most prestigious award for national service (1980). Since then, the numerous canvases dedicated to her stand as testimony to Husain's fascination with her powerful public image and persona. Husain was truly enthralled with the love, compassion and care the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity gave to the orphans of Calcutta and their complex identities.
This painting explores notions not only of Mother Teresa, but also of motherhood in general, from the biblical Virgin Mary to Husain's own mother, Zainab who died when he was only two years old. Regardless of the medium used, Husain always portrays her as a faceless woman often in the presence of children. "I have tried to capture in my paintings what her presence meant to the destitute and the dying, the light and hope she brought by mere inquiry, by putting her hand over a child abandoned in the street [...] That is why I try it again and again, after a gap of time, in a different medium." (Artist quote, Beyond the Canvas, New Delhi, 1994)
This painting explores notions not only of Mother Teresa, but also of motherhood in general, from the biblical Virgin Mary to Husain's own mother, Zainab who died when he was only two years old. Regardless of the medium used, Husain always portrays her as a faceless woman often in the presence of children. "I have tried to capture in my paintings what her presence meant to the destitute and the dying, the light and hope she brought by mere inquiry, by putting her hand over a child abandoned in the street [...] That is why I try it again and again, after a gap of time, in a different medium." (Artist quote, Beyond the Canvas, New Delhi, 1994)