Priya Singh
Head of Department
Lot 16
Maqbool Fida Husain(1915-2011)Untitled (Tearing Apart)
10 December 2024, 15:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£120,000 - £180,000
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Louise Almeras
Cataloguer
Maqbool Fida Husain (1915-2011)
Untitled (Tearing Apart)
signed 'Husain' lower left; signed 'Husain 91' verso
acrylic on board, framed
57.3 x 89.6cm (22 9/16 x 35 1/4in).
signed 'Husain' lower left; signed 'Husain 91' verso
acrylic on board, framed
57.3 x 89.6cm (22 9/16 x 35 1/4in).
Footnotes
Provenance
Property from a private collection, Dubai.
Acquired from the artist.
'My horses like lightning, cut across many horizons. Seldom their hooves are shown. They hop around the spaces. From the battlefield of "Karbala" to Baukura terra cota, 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.' (Husain, Tata Steel Publications, 1987, p. 83)
Horses figure prominently in Husain's work. The reasons for this are likely to be varied, though Husain notes that one of his earliest influences comes from the procession to commemorate the Prophet's grandson which involved the carrying of an effigy of his horse through the streets. The manner in which these horses are painted is reminiscent of a puppet or wooden effigy, strengthening the link with the Islamic holiday of the prophet's grandson. Additionally, Husain had worked in a children's toy and furniture factory during the 1940s and it is possible that many of his horse paintings draw heavily on the manner of the construction of puppet horses. Husain was also heavily influenced by the terracotta horses he saw during his visit to China. Since their domestication, horses have been important subjects for art and religion and have helped build civilizations, no less so in Hinduism. Husain was fascinated with his own roots but also learning and assimilating other cultures as sources of inspiration. As such this painting exemplifies this wonderfully: the horse as a symbol of power and tradition, a part of Islamic culture, an influence from China, and painted in a style reminiscent of European Cubism. 'All forms of art are born from one's roots', perhaps Husain wished to explore as many artistic roots as possible