Maqbool Fida Husain

(1915-2011)

Untitled (Five Horses)

Footnotes

Provenance
Property from a private collection, Dubai.
Acquired from the artist.

The sound of galloping horses seemed like a tremor to me.
Its echoes do not seems to stop.
All these horses running together raise a cloud of dust.
Duldul - the horse from the battle of Karbala,
Ashwamedh - reaching up to Luv and Kush.
Luminous in their seven rainbow colours.
Horses harnessed to the chariot of the Sun God,
Bursting through the sky.
Passionate horses, screaming with desire.
The Chinese terracotta horses,
Folk horses from the village of Bankura,
Horses, with the beauty of a woman and the valour of a man.

M.F. Husain (R. Siddiqui, In Conversation with Husain Paintings, Books Today Group, 2001, p. 114)

Animals and birds have appeared in Indian sculpture since ancient times. In painting, apart from the pre-historic rock paintings in which there is naturally a strong presence of animals, the practise of incorporating animal and bird forms is an uninterrupted tradition right up to contemporary times. Quite often, these creatures reflect or enhance the mood of the human characters in the painting with their emotional, literary and mythical associations or just represent nature along with its other elements.

Husain is an inheritor of this classical and folk tradition that he reformulates for his own purpose as a modern artist...One of his most perennial obsessions as an artist has been the form of the horse. During an interview with the well known art critic Vinod Bhardwaj in 1979, Husain said, 'I say this about myself: I sell horses and make films.'

Untitled (Horses) illustrates Husain's mastery in capturing the essence of movement, power, and grace within the realm of equine imagery. Executed in 1982, this monumental acrylic on canvas showcases five majestic horses rendered with bold strokes and understated colours against a striking red background, creating a striking contrast that draws the viewer's attention to the dynamic energy emanating from the subjects.

The five horses illustrate a cohesion of the various influences on Husain as described in the poem above. Painted in yellow, white, black and browns, they dominate the canvas, whilst creating a balance and harmony at the same time. Despite the repetitive nature of the subject, Husain skilfully portrays the individuality of each horse through subtle variations in posture, size, expression, and colouration. Each horse with distinct characteristics, seems to come alive as they gallop and crisscross across the canvas. Husain's gestural brushwork imbues the scene with a sense of urgency and vitality, capturing the raw power and primal beauty of these magnificent creatures.