Syed Haider Raza (b. 1922)

Canvas appears to be in good overall condition. Colors of original slightly brighter than catalogue illustration.
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'Raza remains characterized by the crossbreeding of the modernity of Europe and America and the spirituality of India. His evolution can be observed in the successive stages that structured his life: at every moment of his thought process, life, nature and their mysteries have been forever present.' (M. Imbert, Raza: An Introduction to his Painting, New Delhi, 2003).

Throughout his career Raza has been influenced by the mystical power of nature. The elements and the potency of colors and symbols to represent these elements are central to the evolution of Raza's artistic vocabulary. In the early years in France, Raza painted the landscapes of Europe in semi abstracted forms but with identifiable architectural features that provide a constant link to human activity but as his works progress these identifiable elements disappear. In a recent conversation Raza stated 'sometime between 1975 and 1980, I began to feel the draw of my Indian heritage. I thought: I come from India, I have a different vision; I should incorporate what I have learned in France with Indian concepts. In this period, I visited India every year to study Indian philosophy, iconography, magic diagrams (yantras), and ancient Indian art, particularly Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain art. I was impressed by paintings from Basholi, Malwa, and Mewar, and began combining colours in a manner that echoed Indian miniature painting.' (Raza in conversation with Amrita Jhaveri, Sotheby's Preview Magazine, 2007).  In India the use of symbols is sanctified by an ancient and continuous tradition of visual abstraction. Mandalas and yantra are recognized as powerful visual aids to meditation and at a more fundamental level reflect the inter-connected nature of the universe itself. By the mid 1980's Raza's paintings had become tightly ordered geometric compositions that were closely related to these ancient artistic diagrams and the philosophical theories that they represent.

'Raza's continuing concern has been with Nature: with the elements of nature which govern Time and Space and infuse order into the Universe. To express this concept he resorts to the principles which govern pictorial language and which in their turn, infuse order into the canvas. The vocabulary of the point, line and diagonal, of the square, circle and triangle become the essential components of his work - as much as they have always remained the principles used by traditional shilpins when commencing their work. In both Raza's vision and those of the shilpins, the purpose is much the same; to explore the forces that control the sacred order of the universe and to express these forces.

Representation of these Elements is symbolic; all directions, all lines and forms have a particular meaning or value. They coalesce into a single entity like a graph that can be directly apprehended by the inner vision - for transmitting that which cannot be directly seen by the naked eye. By arriving at the same means by which to express the elements Raza has resorted to primordial forms which have been used in India and elsewhere for centuries. Their significance and meaning is universal, although as we have seen, variations exist for abstracting these elemental forces.' (Geeti Sen, Bindu: Space and Time in Raza's Vision, New Delhi, 1997, p. 148).

Despite the direct influence of these ancient treatises on composition and form Raza recognizes in his own works the element of intuition that also works at a subconscious level during the creative process. This intuitive approach cannot be overlooked for it is through his experiences as an artist and as an individual that new and even unexpected elements continue to manifest themselves even within his structured later works. The artist states 'all my life I have been searching for the logic of Form: for coherence in the elements of painting, that can be explained...Now, I am inclined to think that there is no formal logic...Reasoning, order, logic. These are at the beginning. These are the fundamental inquiries that are indispensable. Thereafter you go to other levels - where logic is left behind.' (ibid)