Maqbool Fida Husain (Indian, 1915-2011) Untitled (Bhil Tribals)Maqbool Fida Husain (Indian, 1915-2011)Untitled (Bhil Tribals) signed lower right and signed and dated 5/VIII/006 versoacrylic on canvas, framed181.5 x 120.5cm (71 7/16 x 47 7/16in).CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF THE PROGRESSIVE ARTISTSProvenanceAcquired from the artist in 2007.'A Painterly Journey of Husain in his own wordsBorn in the Second decade of the 20th Century Venue of landing - Pandharpur in MaharashtraMy mother Zainab took seven rounds around my frail bodyand bade farewell herself.My grandfather Abdul the tinsmith, my father Fida the accountantAn infant Maqbool, a would-be painter headed towardsIndore then ruled by the Holkar dynasty.My rocking cradle now firmly placed in princelypilferage and pageantry.A motherless Maqbool wandered alone in the lanes and landscapes of Malwa, now Madhya Pradesh.A sketching pad the only companion. The Third decade made me conscious of the British Raj and the arrival of Gandhi on the political horizon.Glancing through the pages of the most popular illustrated weekly called 'Riyasat.'The fourth decade put forward a decisive proposal towhich I at one clung like along deserted child dashesinto his mother's lap.My painterly journey commences against odds and orthodoxy.My brush dips down into deep reds and sweeps across the blue space above - I paint a woman, her navel red and breast blue whosemaroon tits swollen-Then comes the Fifth decade and I meet the painted woman whohas swallowed her darkness to shoe me the eternal entrance.The ecstasy of pain. The aroma of dying wounds. Then under the cover of my tattered umbrella and flickering lanternI take my woman to distant lands. To Chinese terracotta and jade horses, to Italian virgins of Cimabue and Giotto,to tormented Rembrandt portraits, to Van Gogh's lonely chair and abandoned shoes. All of a sudden I come to a halt in front of Guernica.As the Sixth decade declares war of self-destruction in the name of 'Avant-garde'But my painted man, woman and animal remain neutral-there I lay aside my conventional tools for a while.And hold the 16mm movie camera to shoot an experimental film in Rajasthan, based on visual equation of cow plus umbrellaplus a lantern minus a shoe is equal to one unit, Man-Woman.The film so baffled the Berlin Film Festival to award the 'Golden Bear.'Followed by hesitant National awards,And also the much awaited promotion from Padmashree to Padmabhushan to Padmavibhushan. The universities of Mysore and Benaras conferred doctorates.The New York at publisher Harry Abraham compiled a Comprehensive volume and how one reaps the reward of neutrality is still a question.But before I find the answer-The Seventh decade rings my doorbell, And as I open the door Goddess Durga enters riding thetiger followed by 'Kanya' the most beautiful woman on Earth, eternally waiting at the banks of the river Gomti.There joins another stream of thought, ripples of wave, the river Voltawa, Maria of Slovakia.The Eighth decade, the decade of eternal mother, her white sarilights up the unlit lanes of Calcutta. I paint and unfoldseveral layers of her sari in search of my lost mother.Sometimes her trembling hand appears from the bodiless bundle of cloth. To touch the fugitive son?The Ninth decade brings all the arc lights, sound effects and cameras, cranes and crackles of tinsel town. Shoot of an art and cinema episode.A hundred feet of visual script painted on the lemon yellow sari.Madhuri the metaphor for my Gaja Gamini,the beautiful walk, her dancing toes touching the crest of our time.Why a painter's dreamflashes on the silver screen instead of the wallsof Ajanta and the Sistine chapel?'Rashda Siddiqui, In conversation with Husain paintings, Mumbai, 2001, pg. 16-17.Dating from 2006, this enormous work was made in Husain's ninth decade. It encapsulates the motifs that Husain has come to be known for, the reclining woman and the fierce and protective elephants. A perennial artist, Husain adapted to and depicted various themes, religions and ideas throughout his career. Here he is depicting the Bhils, the largest tribal group in western India. They populate the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and Tripura in far-eastern India, on the border with Bangladesh. Also known as Adivasi's they speak various languages, and have regional dress variations, which might explain why Husain has refrained from depicting their clothing here. Known for their ability to live in the wild and hunt, the reclining woman appears to be protected by and content in the elephant's trunk. The elephant is perhaps shielding her from the blazing red sun emanating from the top left corner. Despite the sombre colours, there is a playfulness in the work. The brush strokes are sharp and short, and illustrate Husain's skilfulness as an artist, honed over a lifetime of experimenting, commenting and depicting innumerable topics.