When the exhibition ‘Souza in The 40s’ arrived at Sunaparanta Gallery, Goa (Dec 2019), my research on the artist
had been underway for a couple of years. The exhibition, a mega event curated
by Conor Macklin was held simultaneously at two other venues, Saffronart Delhi
and Grosvenor Gallery London. It showcased FN Souza in the first decade of his
artistic career (1940-1949), up to when he packed his bags to go to London.
I went to see the exhibition with a
clear context, wanting to see the mind of an exceptionally brilliant young
Souza from when he was just 16 years old to when he turned 26. And what I saw
in the exhibition validated my research, as well sent me on new pathways to
decipher Souza’s vision as a young artist.
Undoubtedly, with his first strokes on the canvas, Souza at sixteen had set out to study nature in its vast magnificence. Besides natural surroundings, his endeavor to comprehend nature through the human body showcased an exceptional quality, a fascination which moored him for life, that mastery of haptic quality of drawing dissecting the nature of human form. But what was utterly riveting was the truly remarkable, in a definite class of its own, the avant-garde portrayal of women by a boy artist just 16, 17 ....18 years of age.
His nudes in the gallery sketched
with admirable adroitness made me stop short. Women erotic and sensual, echoing
the susurrations of symbolists yet in complete command of their bodies ;
utterly unselfconscious voluptuous women laughing singing and running on the
beach in swimwear, or at their toilet beside a flowing stream, with one of
them playfully kicking a stone on the river bank. These were magnificent human
beings, absolutely natural and earthy as if he had conspired with nature to
bring together beauty and mystery in harmony with the universal laws governing
life and matter. In a cultural context of two millennia human civilization,
these completely as ease women in these artworks in the 40s’ executed by a
young mind are no doubt outstanding.
