FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA (1924-2002)

In 1960 Souza completed a series of paintings in Italy during his stay there on an Italian Government scholarship. The red building triumphant in the centre of the composition resembles the architecture of St. Peter's. Souza's landscapes and cityscapes in the late 1950s and early 1960s are often imbued with a sense of foreboding and an ominous sublime. However his works during this brief period in Rome are imbued with an elated, expressive exuberance often revelling in red. The green path invites the viewer inside this quivering structure which appears almost dancing in the blue effervescent sunlight. Rome with its broad quick strokes, thick impasto, and rich pallet of blues, greens and reds stands apart from Souza's landscapes as a jubilant jewel in Souza's oeuvre.