MAQBOOL FIDA HUSAIN (1915-2011)

"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 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." (Husain, Tata Steel Publications, 1987, p. 83)

Husain's horses are both personal and universal. M.F. Husain frequently encountered the equine effigy throughout his life across cultures. He acknowledges the influence of Tang pottery horses he studied on a trip to China and the equestrian sculptures discovered after a trip to Italy. However, Red Horses also resonate with M.F. Husain's admiration for Ancient Greece, a civilization which championed and deified the equestrian form. The Trojan Horse, Pegasus and Alexander's prized Bucephalus are only a few iconic stallions which permeate the mythological and historical past of hallowed antiquity.