Eros Killing Thanatos

By the 1940s, Indian politics, economy and society underwent great changes. Most of the world including India felt the brutal force of World War II, India however was also amidst its struggle for independence from British rule. The war brought to India many Europeans and American; who came as soldiers and refugees and interactions with the foreigners left an impression on the art practices.

The strings of this restlessness reached Mumbai by 1947 which led to the formation of the Progressive Artists Group. Artists who joined this group were Francis Newton Souza, Maqbool Fida Husain, Syed Haider Raza, Krishna Howlaji Ara, Hari Ambadas Gade, and S Bakre, a sculptor. The group of young artists felt an affinity with international modernism and dwelled on the formal values of a painting.

Francis Newton Souza is best known for his inventive human forms particularly the heads. Born in Goa in 1924 he was a student at the J.J. School of Art. His early work made an impact both in India and abroad. His strong, bold lines and the manner in which he delineated the head in a distinctive way with the use of circles, hatchings and crosses was virtually a re-invention in itself. He was widely independent and fully realized in his own distinctive idiom and style that he created for himself.

This painting has a unique freshness and spontaneity to it which lends to it a certain pristine quality. Enthralling and powerful, the killing and the symbolism of Eros becomes Souza’s powerful imagery from myth. The work makes evident his mastery and command over his lines. The work exhibits a certain zest, a rawness that emphasizes his incomparable talent as draughtsman.