MAQBOOL FIDA HUSAIN (1913-2011)

Maqbool Fida Husain often selects earthy colors to represent the places, moments and people that left an indelible impact on his life. In 1961-62, Husain travelled extensively throughout Rajasthan, falling in love with its landscape, people and architecture. It is no wonder that he chose Rajasthan as the location for his film Through the Eyes of a Painter, 1967. The painting on offer depicting Rajasthan references the harsh side of the desert landscape; the cruel red earth and the burning sun. A glimmer of hope appears in the distance as a mirage.

"Husain's emotional inscape is typified in his Wasteland,[...] This shows a dead and empty land, with a tree stump in the foreground and a blazing sun overhead in a sky the color of burnt earth. The whole picture has the air of a mirage or delirious vision." (R. Bartholomew and S. S. Kapur, Husain, Harry N. Abrams New York, 1972, p. 46)

In this rare abstract painting, Husain uniquely combines canvas and wood panel as a substrate reflecting the dry and harsh texture of the desert. "These rare abstract experiments by Husain were in part an answer to his then critics who were prepared to consign him to history for not keeping up with the Avant garde movements of the time. In spirit, they are closest to the works of S.H. Raza, who was attempting to capture in abstraction his childhood memories of the central Indian plains. While Raza continued to become [and remain] an abstract painter, Husain soon reverted to his interest in the human figure [...] (A. Jhaveri and R. Dean, M.F. Husain: Early Masterpieces 1950s - 70s, London, 2006, unpaginated)