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MAQBOOL FIDA HUSAIN (1915-2011) Untitled (Tulsi) signed, dated and inscribed 'Husain 14 X. 98 TORONTO' (upper right) acrylic on canvas laid on board 23 ? x 71 ? in. (59.7 x 181.6 cm.) Painted in 1998
In the present painting, Maqbool Fida Husain depicts three female figures and a group of elephants against the backdrop of a verdant red and green forest. Each of the women is portrayed in the sensual tribhanga posture, a classical dance pose, with the central figure wearing ghunghroos or dancer’s bells around her ankle. Characteristically, these figures are portrayed without facial features, placing greater emphasis on their sensuous posture and figures, and indicating their representation of the universal Woman. Despite the separation of the figures, Husain infuses this painting with a powerful rhythm, creating a sense of harmony and conveying an atmosphere of a joyful celebration.
In this scroll-like painting, the universal Woman perhaps alludes to the goddess Tulsi, an avatar of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, whose earthly manifestation is believed to be the holy basil plant. In several Hindu households, women tend and worship tulsi plants every morning to ensure their families benefit from their religious and medicinal values. In this painting, the associations with tulsi are evident in the leaves scattered across the canvas, covering the women’s bodies and occupying the background, and in the presence of elephants, traditionally Lakshmi’s companion and vehicle. In Indian classical literature, the elephant is considered a sacred animal and symbol of grace, and the Sanskrit term gajagamini, meaning one who walks with the graceful gait of an elephant, is often used to describe beautiful women.
Deeply rooted in an Indian vernacular, Husain’s visual vocabulary drew heavily from classical Sanskrit notions of aesthetics. He strongly believed that to understand how to paint, one must also comprehend form, movement and music. In the myriad symbols in this painting, viewers can trace the influence of classical Indian sculpture, the aesthetic relationships Husain drew between dance, sculpture and painting, and his interest in expressing movement and rhythm on canvas.
Husain painted the present lot as a gift for the family he stayed with when he travelled to Toronto. By offering his hosts this painting, loaded with auspicious symbols and references, the artist expressed his gratitude and blessings to the household that warmly welcomed him to Canada.