By Sahasra Sai Murtineni

Abstract

“A head”, said Picasso, “is a matter of eyes, nose, mouth, which can be distributed in any way you like”. An image; a head, as his idol put it, with eyes, nose, mouth, distributed in a manner so he might just remember. For the most part of his life, every female figure that M.F Husain painted was a subconscious search, rendition after rendition of what his mother might have looked like. A recipient of accolades ranging from the Golden Bear Short Film Award to the Padma Shri, a master of his work, a pioneer of modern contemporary art in India and a man at the centre of controversy, M.F Husain was more so an ever-young boy at heart. Husain’s most glaring pursuit of a mother figure was his series of paintings of Mother Teresa, canvases he painted for over two decades in quest of what he lost as a child.  

Barefoot from Bombay to Europe

Maqbool Fida Husain, was born in 1915 in Pandharpur, Maharashtra. Owing to the early death of his mother, he was brought up by his grandfather in his younger years. He moved to Indore however, to be with his father in 1919 where he gained an interest in cinema, language and poetry. Studying and practising calligraphy marked the beginning of his career. His career as a prolific artist however, took flight in 1947. It was an important year for the entire nation, it placed in the bloodied hands of many people’s freedom, while it took away a roof over their heads; it was joyous and melancholic all at the same time. The year was also a prominent one for Husain on a personal level as he lost his father that year. Although Husain was a majorly self-taught artist, he attended the Sir J.J School of Arts for a brief period, he dropped out of art school however, following his father’s death. Subsequently, he started painting cinema posters in Bollywood and designing toys. He travelled to Europe for the first time in 1953 where he did a barefoot grand tour. It was here that he met his idol, Pablo Picasso, for the first time. Surprisingly enough, it was Paul Klee who had the biggest influence on Husain as he was surprised by the depth of Klee’s knowledge of Indian philosophy. His final works, a series depicting the ‘Indian Civilization’ in Husain’s eye was commissioned by Mrs. Usha Mittal, are displayed in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, where he was an artist in residence in one of his initial international exhibitions. 

The Master, The Disciple and Cubism

Cubism, as a visual art style, at its advent challenged the notion that art must replicate nature. It aims to flaunt the two dimensionality of the canvas. It reduces the objects of the painting to their two-dimensional components by depicting them as fractured objects in geometric forms. Pablo Picasso has, almost unanimously, been credited with the development of Cubism as a style of painting. Although Picasso was never officially the master or Husain his disciple, he played a role in influencing Husain’s taste for picking up Cubism. Husain’s take on the already unconventional visual art style was still more atypical as he chose to adorn his paintings with a variety of bright colours as opposed to the previously seen muted and neutral tones. This can be seen as a continuing theme across almost all his paintings in a career spanning over 60 years.

Mother Teresa

Having lost his mother as a young boy, Husain’s transformative years as a young adult were influenced mainly by male figures. This proved to be even more tough on him as he lived through the partition without a mother. Perhaps this is why Husain spent the rest of his time pouring life into every female he ever painted, portraying her in a strong but compassionate role, trying to depict his mother and how she might have been. 
Pain, for artists, is a birth giver of art. Muses that induce pain, thus, are the best birth givers. One such muse that struck a chord in Husain’s heart, stayed with him for long after he saw the image and led him to paint this particular painting was Michelangelo’s ‘La Pieta’. It is a sculpted epitome of maternal grief. Mary is seen cradling the lifeless form of her son after he descended from the cross. No one could’ve fathomed that a mere rock could be sculpted to show haunting pain that transcends generations. Husain drew inspiration from Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’ to paint this particular painting of Mother Teresa. A mother that lost her son and a son that lost his mother; stories that were meant to collide and art that was meant to be interwoven, kept apart by mere centuries. 

The Pieta is a powerful representation of the capacity of human suffering, with Mary’s shoulders’, although slumped as if carrying the weight of the world on them, still draping over the lifeless body of her son in an ever so protective way. Husain’s painting too resembles a similar format wherein a faceless yet evident Mother Teresa is seen holding an old ailing man in her arms fulfilling her role as universal mother. Husain was attracted to Mother Teresa as a living personification of his mother, the spiritual dimension of Mother Teresa was as important to him as an artist as the very idea of motherhood. In order to accurately depict both these aspects, he moved beyond the realms of realism towards a metaphorical abstract wherein Mother Teresa was characterised and recognized by her iconic white saree with the blue border rather than her facial features. In the more evolved paintings and sketches of Mother Teresa by Husain, her face is no longer a part of the painting, leaving her entire body to be a hollow whose shape is only defined by the saree, thus creating a uniform of recognition. This saree was accompanied by depictions of old men and young children in the photos as a testament to her ever-helping nature and boundless love. 

Conclusion

“The eight decade, the decade of eternal mother,

Her white sari, lights up the unlit lanes of Calcutta.

I paint and unfold several layers of her sari,

In search of my lost mother.

Sometimes her trembling hand,

Appears from the bodiless bundle of cloth

To touch her fugitive son.”  – MF Husain 

Husain was an explorer, his search led him to explore different languages and expressions of art including painting, poetry, film, etc. Husain was a man different from many. He was a painter different from most. His life was filled with colour and was as deviant from ‘normal’ as his paintings are filled with colour and deviant from traditional cubism. His name was one known even by men not intrigued by art. Across all these phases of his life, in his career and otherwise, there has always been one constant, or rather the absence of one; his mother. In his career spanning over 60 years, he has painted painting after painting depicting females hoping to see his mother in one of them. Irrespective of whether he found her in his paintings or not, he definitely paved a path for himself to reach her, winning hearts and upsetting some on the way. 

About the Author

Sahasra is a sophomore pursuing her undergraduate studies in Law at O.P. Jindal Global University. Coming from a science background and entering the field of law, she is always looking for intersections with multiple other disciplines to find her area of interest.