‘Husain’s practice is embedded… in a vision of civilisation as a cultural structure itself defined in continuing interaction with diversity. He models the embrace and absorption of the entire civilizational heritage as part of what one images as an inner consciousness.’
The Indian epics were one of Maqbool Fida Husain’s greatest inspirations. Throughout his oeuvre, Husain depicts the characters of the Ramayana and Mahabharata in his work, forming a new, visual translation of the original Sanskrit texts. Husain’s reimagined iconography of India’s literary traditions, combined with a modernist aesthetic, demonstrate his captivation with Indian heritage and the country’s cultural landscape.
In 1971, Husain painted a series of 27 works of the Mahabharata for the Sao Paolo Biennale, specifically to exhibit alongside Picasso. For Husain, the epic was the only subject matter uniquely suited to display abreast the great Spanish artist. The influence of Picasso’s iconic Guernica (1936) and its mode of epic storytelling with abstract figures and symbols parallels how Husain began to depict these mythological texts.
The Mahabharata tells the story of the Pandavas and the Kauravas, two groups of princely cousins who ultimately fight one another in a violent battle known as the Kurukshetra War. At the very start of the war, Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers is paralyzed by the moral dilemma of having to kill his own kin. Krishna meets Arjuna in his chariot to discuss his duty, teaching him that his responsibility as a warrior cosmically supersedes what seems right and wrong.
The present work shows the skilled archer guiding his troops into war, no longer reluctant to confront the challenges ahead. With an outstretched arm pointing towards the sun, Husain thoughtfully depicts Arjuna, a man who had been overwhelmed with affection for his family that he briefly failed to fulfill his obligations. Armed with a bow and arrow and led by two magnificent horses, this depiction of Arjuna resembles the glory and gravitas of the character himself.
Draupadi, the main female protagonist in the Mahabharata and Arjuna’s wife, is dressed in saffron-colored cloth and adorned with a red bindi. Riding the chariot behind Arjuna, Husain paints Draupadi as a symbol of virtue and loyalty, creating a scene of his own imagination between the two epic characters. Arjuna and Draupadi form a formidable pair and represent the triumph of good over evil.