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Grey Landscape

Sayed Haider Raza

Artwork Details

Grey Landscape
1963
Sayed Haider Raza
oil on canvas
23 1/4 in x 19 1/2 in (59.06 cm x 49.53 cm)
Gift of the Estate of Richard H. Shackson
2015/2.21

Description

Subject Matter:

As one of the founders of Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group (1947), Raza strove to disconnect contemporary Indian painting from the European realism that overwhelmed Indian academic painting and create a greater connection to "Antar gyan" (inner knowledge). This painting was produced once he had settled in Paris, after receiving a grant from the French government to study at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1950-1953). Works like this combine expressionist painterly techniques with a depiction of idyllic lanscapes—Raza was particularly enamored by the landscapes of the French countryside. Pointing to the more pure abstraction of his work after 1970, this painting shows the development of Indian modernism away from any colonial references.

Physical Description:

This oil painting has an abstract composition at the lower right with clusters of white patches against a black and deep blue background. The painting is signed and dated (l.c.) "Raza '63".

Usage Rights:

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