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lot 10

lot 10

Maqbool Fida Husain

Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Ho Ramji

acrylic on canvas
32 x 43 in. (81.3 x 109.2 cm.)
painted in 1996

Winning Bid: $ 120,000

Estimate: US$ 60,000 - 90,000

Lot Closed

Lot Details

Signed and dated 'Husain 96' (lower right)

PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the artist
Private collection, New Delhi

Films had long been a part of M.F. Husain's preoccupation as an artist and one of the main sources of material and inspiration for his works. His exposure to cinema had started early in his career after getting his start in painting cinema hoardings. This has influenced his art in the same manner as his experiences with literature and mythology did. Even the technique of depicting different scenes and symbology or juxtaposing apparently unconnected or even contrary elements in a single frame can be attributed to this influence to some extent.

The current lot titled 'Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Ho Ramji' was painted in 1996, based on scenes from the hit song 'Mera Piya Ghar Aaya' in the Bollywood film 'Yaraana,' released in 1995. The film starring actress Madhuri Dixit became popular for this hit song, which was inspired by a Punjabi song of the same title written by 18-century poet Baba Bulleh Shah. In this painting, Husain presumably depicts Madhuri and another woman dancing to the same song, while Lord Ganesha, patron of arts joins them.

Madhuri is one of Husain's muses; his fascination with the actress started after watching her performance in the film, 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun!' (1994) which the artist watched for a total of 67 times. His fondness for Madhuri led him to create a series of painting based on her and her films, including the present lot. In 2000, Husain debuted 'Gaja Gamini' starring the actress which was intended as a tribute to womanhood and to Dixit herself.

Husain's gift of celebrating both the profound and the banal encompassed varied art forms including popular cinema. Aside from 'Gaja Gamini', Husain also directed the experimental film 'Through the Eyes of a Painter' (1967) and 'Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities' (2004). His obsession with cinema was palpable and continued until his death in 2011.

Maqbool Fida Husain

(1915 - 2011)
Born in Pandharpur, Maharashtra, in 1915, Husain moved to Mumbai in 1937 where he sustained himself by painting cinema hoardings and designing furniture and toys. A self-taught artist, Husain was invited to join the Progressive Artists Group in 1947 by F.N. Souza after his first public exhibition of paintings. Most recently, his work has been featured in solo shows including ‘M.F. Husain: Early Masterpieces 1950s-1970s at the David Winton Bell Gallery, Providence in 2010; ‘Epic India’ at the peabody Essex Museum, Salem, in 2006-07; and ‘Early Masterpieces 1950-70s, at Asia House Gallery, London, in 2006. Husain was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, India’s Upper House of Parliament in 1986-92, during which he pictorially recorded its events, which were then published in 1994. The Government of India awarded him with a Padma Shri in 1966, a Padma Bhushan in 1973 and Padma Vibhushan in 1991, all high civilian honours. In 1971, Husain was invited to exhibit as a special invitee with Pablo Picasso at the Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil. In 2004, he was awarded the Lalit Kala Ratna by the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. Husian passed away in London in 2011.