Sayed Haider Raza

(1922-2016)

La Terre

Footnotes

Provenance
Property from a Corporate Collection, UK.
The Collection of Vincent Grimaud, Paris;
Christie's, Modern and Contemporary Indian Art Including Art from Pakistan And Sri Lanka, Sale 7501, 21st May 2007, London, Lot 7, Private Collection
Christie's, South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art, Sale 2336, 15th September 2010, New York, Lot 323.

Exhibited
Bombay, Gallery Chemould, Raza Anthology 1980-1990, 24th January – 10th February 1990.
New York, Saffronart in association with Berkeley Square Gallery, Raza – A Retrospective, 21st September – 31st October 2007.

Published
SH RAZA: Catalogue Raisonné 1972 - 1989 (Volume II), New Delhi, 2022, p.402-403
Pierre Sou-chand, L'age d'or de la peinture en Inde, Artension no. 11, September, Paris, 1989, p.18 (dated '1985') (illustrated)
Geeti Sen, Raza, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, 1990, fig. 12 (illustrated).
Exhibition catalogue, Raza Anthology 1980-1990, Gallery Chemould, Bombay, 1990, unpaginated (illustrated).
Geeti Sen, Bindu: Space and Time in Raza's Vision, Media Transasia, New Delhi, 1997, p.135 (illustrated).
Exhibition catalogue, Raza – A Retrospective, Saffronart in association with Berkeley Square Gallery, New York, 2007, Cat. no. 33, p. p 90-91, (illustrated).
Alain Bonfand, Raza, Editions de la Difference, Paris, 2008, p.p. 124 – 125 (illustrated)
Ranjit Hoskote, Ashok Vajpeyi, Yashodhara Dalmia and AVNI Doshi, S.H Raza: Vistaar, Art Musings, Mumbai, 2012, p.55 (illustrated).

In La Terre, or 'The Earth', Sayed Haider Raza explores artistic inquiries centred on a pure visual order around line, tone, colour, texture and space, and the theme of nature. Painted in 1985, La Terre is a chef-d'oeuvre that marks a pivotal moment in Raza's career. After spending years immersed in the styles of the various currents of Western Modernism, his artistic journey reached a turning point as he began embracing key aspects of his Indian heritage into his body of work.

Raza was born in rural Central India and studied art in Nagpur and Bombay before moving to Paris in 1950 to study at L'École des Beaux-Arts on a scholarship. The artistic scene that emerged in the latter half of the 20th century, influenced by the aftermath of World War II, sparked significant transformations for many artists in the French capital, as they sought new forms of expression. Among them, Raza, whose studies at Les Beaux-Arts led him to explore further on his journey towards abstraction.

During his decades-long stay in France, his forms melted, and the artist progressively abandoned a desire to depict a tangible, constructed reality through his landscapes' interpretations. After delving into a variety of influences from Expressionism, Raza's abstract style evolved toward a more distinct geometric abstraction. By the late 70s, Raza had fully committed to the use of pure geometric forms in his work.

Raza co-founded the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group (PAG) in 1947 alongside Krishna Hawlaji Ara and Francis Newton Souza, with the aim of diverging from the Western realist traditions taught in Indian art schools. The group sought to develop a modern artistic language that echoed India's essence. This marked the beginning of a broader shift, as artists sought to blend indigenous traditions with contemporary influences. By the 1970s and 1980s, Raza felt an increasingly strong emotional and spiritual connection to his native land. During this period, he began a series of paintings titled La Terre, including the work consigned here. Reflecting on this artistic journey, Raza stated: "I was inspired to conceive a painting which could be a letter to my mother country, India, revealing my experiences, discoveries, and acquisitions. I hoped the painting could be evidence that I was never cut off from my sources. The memories, conscious and unconscious, were ever present" (Artist Statement, 1981, S. H. Raza, exhibition catalogue, London and New York, 2005).

"I have never left India. I love my country, and I am proud of it, and it's not sentimental my friend. Don't think that it's only emotional. I have been linked with the profound spiritual, religious message that India has to give to Indians and to the world of which we are forgetful at times, even in India." (Raza cited in 'A Conversation with Raza', Raza: A Retrospective exhibition catalogue, New York, 2007, unpaginated).

Indeed, while much of the work produced by emerging abstract artists in the second half of the 20th century was shaped by Western influences, a distinct artistic language emerged. This new form of abstraction, described by Ashish Anand as "a native language, qualified by Indian roots and steeped in an abstract lexicon that dates to the past, whether historical or mythological" (Indian Abstracts: An Absence of Form, Notes from the Director, New Delhi, 2014, p. 7), blended India's rich cultural heritage with modern abstract forms, embodying the evolution of artists like Raza.

In La Terre, Raza's abstract work, is profoundly shaped by his early experiences in the forests of his native village, Barbaria, Madhya Pradesh. This 1985 work synthesizes an imagery of his homeland landscape through elements of nature, spatial expression, and spiritual geometry into a cohesive composition. In La Terre, Raza embraces abstraction as a creative catalyst to evoke the grandeur and lyrical subtleties of the Indian landscape. This work is emblematic of Raza's oeuvre, characterised by its recurring leitmotifs: a square canvas meticulously divided through the application of a distinct earthy colour palette and the use of intersecting horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines that create intricate triangular segments. This structure is deeply informed by the principles of Hindu philosophy, reflecting Raza's commitment to intertwining his artistic practice with his cultural heritage. Ultimately, this synthesis of form and meaning not only showcases Raza's distinctive style but also highlights the spiritual and philosophical underpinnings that define his artistic vision.

"My work is my own inner experience and involvement with the mysteries of nature and form, expressed through colour, line, space, and light" (Artist Statement, 1981, S. H. Raza, exhibition catalogue, London and New York, 2005).

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