Bacon, Freud, Mehta, Souza — Human figure in the shadow II War and India’s partition
India’s emerging muscle in global business arena is widely recognised and increasingly respected. It is said that art and economics feed each other. The years of economic sluggishness also reflected in the tough time for Indian artists economically. There were artists with finest expressions who struggled to keep their bodies but it must be said they did not allow their soul—their art—to attrition. To the long list of artists who fought their battle for material survival the likes of M. F. Hussain and Nikhil Biswas should be put in the forefront. While Hussain painted cinema hoardings to invoke his art muse, Nikhil Biswas used old newspapers to paint on. The folklore of the struggle of Indian artists is long, varied, and full of verve and fortitude. We should, as a nation be grateful to the ilk of such courageously obsessed artists that today we have a vibrant patrimony of Indian art that is increasingly been appreciated not only in India but globally.
While India struggled against the long yoke of British imperialism, the II World War intervened in Europe to enact a human catastrophe unknown and unimagined in the history of mankind. Nazi armies singed and devastated life, habitation and cultures going back to human history. The concentrations camps spread all over Europe systematically decimated men women and children in diabolic gas chambers. Franz Kafka vividly portrayed demented diseased mindset of Nazi war machine in his short novel, In the Penal Settlement. A visit I made to one of the most dreaded concentration camps The Auschwitz left me with nightmares for many months. The art and literature of Europe would change forever as a result of the war. From Diaries of Anne Frank, to the autobiography of Polish pianist Szpilman (made into a film by Roman Polanski) a new interpretation and portrayal of Man would be essayed in literature, films and art.
A new human situation was to emerge from the creative imagination of artists. The suffering, bent, traumatised humanity as in the drawings of Henry Moore of the people in underground bomb shelters and in the hopelessness of hope as in the play No Exit (Huis Clos) by Jean Paul Sartre or The Plague—an allegory of innate violence of Man by Albert Camus. The Guernica by Picasso will resonate a Kafkasque universe of futility and absurdity. The impact of II War will devastate the artists’ sensibilities. Satish Gujral spending time in Mexico under likes of Diego Rivera will paint another catastrophe—the partition of India.
Death destruction and suffering of II War helped create a dissembled, distorted human figure like never before. Picasso played a kingly role in this decimation of the accepted tenets of human form drawing. Picasso in his Cubist renderings treated human form as an assemblage of a mechanical contraption—devoid of the inner dynamics of being.
It is in this socio-historical context of the II War and the time thereafter that I locate the works of the four artists— Bacon, Freud, Souza and Tyeb. Francis Bacon the first of these artists with his grotesque open mouth figures, at times prevaricating between human and animal (one is reminded of Gregory Samsa—the man transformed into a giant spider in Metamorphosis by Kafka) disturbs our inner core. It is in line with existential anguish which Norwegian artist Edward Munch in his The Cry resonated before him. Bacon studied pictures of mouth diseases and created paintings with gaping, distorted mouths. Though Lucien Freud happens to be grandson of the great Sigmund Freud, but it is to Bacon’s works that some psychologists apply psychological interpretations and suggest that his open mouths are suggestive of vaginal anxiety of falling in a dark mysterious bottomless pit and as a homosexual it instilled fear and foreboding in him. Whatever may the source of his open mouth figures what is of interest is that he was able to put a mirror to the ugly warts of humanity in post War period.
The other artist who comes nearer to Bacon in expressing anguish, angst, and a kind of dualism and guilt bread through a spiritual conflict was Francis Newton Souza. Growing up in Goa as a Catholic wrought a conflict in him between the canons of religion and his own bohemian spirit. He revolted against the Puritanism of church and regaled in the portrayal of voluptuous female bodies. But the feeling of guilt never deserted him. His expressionistic style carried this conflict of body and spirit. Many of his works from this early period are in the private collection of the gallerist and theatre doyen Ebrahim Alkazi. I had the opportunity to savour these works in Nineties in an exhibition mounted by Alkazi in Arpana Caur’s gallery in Delhi.
Souza’s women figures are always large, rotund, fleshy presence. But it’s the way he renders the face that turns them into horror apparitions. It is this tension between his joy of the physical and the guilt he felt because of his Catholic upbringing that runs through his most landmark works. The faces of women with popping eyes and upturned distorted faces became the hallmark of Souza oeuvre. Souza carries the influence of Pablo Picasso in this. In the present exhibition a chestnut horse with nervous energy rearing to break away is held back by a rope is symbolic of the conflict Souza had between raw bodily desires and their reigning in. The horse is the raw crude libido and the rope the guilt and the effort to tame it. This work I reckon is among masterpieces of Souza’s art and I am sure not many people have been aware of its existence.
Lucien Freud the other British artist, son of émigré Jew parents at the threshold of II War is a practitioner of realism. His is a personal world of capturing the body with uncanny honesty. He does not gloss over the scars and blemishes of sitters. Those of you who regale in the neo-Romantic soft, dreamy figuration of a Suhas Roy or Angalie Ela Menon will find the portraits of his sitters nakedly vulnerable. He does not use a photo shop soft ware to the make skin young and taut—he just presents what his artist’s eyes see. It brings back to me the time I spent on beaches in Europe and Anatolia in Turkey. The Mediterranean sun brought in focus the contrast of flesh young and old. It was so dichotomous that I became pensive on the ephemeral nature of beauty specially the body. In 1999 in Vienna I saw a video art by an Egyptian artist. It was titled the hamams and was shot in a public bath for women. The nude figures from childhood, youth to old age led you to a journey of human body and its decay and distortion. Lucien is no painter of Grecian demi gods and goddesses. Lookup his etching in this exhibition—Woman sleeping and you will realise how with uncanny honesty he presents to us the material body truths.
In the end I will talk about Tyeb Mehta. He like the rest of his generation was witness to the bloody mayhem of India’s partition. He has evolved a style of flat colour surfaces and to build up diagonally flat colour figuration in alternate colours. He entwines dual images in unified pictorial space. He uses a smudged drawing line to render images that are flat and like paper cut outs. His sinewy drawing line brings the eye in to the figures from the surrounding flat surfaces and enhances the turmoil of his imagery.
His palette is frugal but his play with limited colours results in simple and direct expression focussing on the diagonalised gravity-infected imagery. What Bacon did with built up of painterly surface using oils Tyeb does with flat colours using acrylics. While Tyeb as a young man was appreciative of Bacon’s art, he found his own instruments of expression that combines pain and pathos using Indian iconography.
In sum the artists in the exhibition were witness to a period of gory history of Europe/India or had their personal crisis of faith (in case of Souza). Their artistic expressions are not only a lesson in fine aesthetics but also in diabolic war and hatred. The history did play a role in shaping their expressions. But in case of Lucien Freud it is the individual sitter’s persona that comes out crystallised in his realism. We hope more such exhibitions will come our way in India as juxtaposition of Indian and European and in this case British art.
Victor Vijay Kumar
Painter, Assemblage artist
About the Author
Viktor Vijay Kumar
Painter
Director and Curator (India Asia) European Artists Association Velbert Essen Germany
Fine arts—painting, assemblage art, autodidact.
Worked in ateliers with Late Prof. Klaus Neuper, Neurmberg; Georg Brandner Leoben Austria and Wolfgang Brenner Westphalia Germany
115 solo/group exhibitions of which 56 abroad including Germany, Austria, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Singapore Italy and U.S.A.
I bought an automatic bread maker by Regal ware at a rummage sale. Does anyone know where I can find a manual
From the manufacturer directly or from ebay
The Regal bread machine manual can be obtained via the company's (Regal) website under product information! In your search engine upon entering the company website, you can type in the product series/type and follow the links to access the manual.
 |
 Chefs Secret 16 PC Hard Anodized Aluminum Cookware Set Heavy Gauge Gift Boxed $85.79 Time Remaining: 31m Buy It Now for only: $85.79 |
 Luigi Bormioli Black Swirl 54 Ounce Pitcher $29.99 Time Remaining: 34m Buy It Now for only: $29.99 |
 Vintage Le Creuset 9 Inch Skillet No 23 Flame Orange Red 9 Pan Lid $1.04 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 35m |
 Honeywell 14 7 8 by 11 1 8 inch Stainless Steel Lid $13.99 Time Remaining: 37m Buy It Now for only: $13.99 |
 Cuisinart Chef Nonstick Anodized 8 Quart Stock Pot With Lid $35.99 Time Remaining: 37m Buy It Now for only: $35.99 |
 Brand NEW All Clad Stainless 7 Quart Stockpot with Pasta Insert and Lid $299.90 Time Remaining: 38m Buy It Now for only: $299.90 |
 New All Clad Stainless Steel 9 Nonstick French Skillet $109.99 Time Remaining: 39m Buy It Now for only: $109.99 |
 Set of Clean Griswold Large Logo EPU Cast Iron Skillets 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 14 $2,250.00 Time Remaining: 40m Buy It Now for only: $2,250.00 |
 Le Creuset Wide Round Dutch Oven Yellow NEW Size 30 or 9 Quart $219.99 Time Remaining: 40m |
 All Clad Stainless 4 Qt Sauce Pan with Loop Handle New Stainless $193.90 Time Remaining: 41m Buy It Now for only: $193.90 |
 25 Quart Pot 87025 with Lid 306 commercial Aluminum Cookware Toledo Ohio Used $9.99 Time Remaining: 42m |
 Lodge Logic Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Spiral Handle 5 qt $42.95 Time Remaining: 42m Buy It Now for only: $42.95 |
 T Fal Specialty 3 Piece Nonstick Fry Pan Set 8 95 11 Inch $39.95 Time Remaining: 42m Buy It Now for only: $39.95 |
 Lodge Color 6 Quart Dutch Oven $73.95 Time Remaining: 42m Buy It Now for only: $73.95 |
 Coleman Speckled Enamelware Dining Kit $59.95 Time Remaining: 42m Buy It Now for only: $59.95 |
 Dutch Oven with Loop Handles $43.95 Time Remaining: 42m Buy It Now for only: $43.95 |
 Club Stockpot Lid 11 Aluminum Beige w Brown Stripe $9.99 Time Remaining: 42m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 Chefs Secret 15 Piece 12 Element T304 Stainless Steel Waterless Cookware SET $229.95 Time Remaining: 43m Buy It Now for only: $229.95 |
 Made in France Havard Copperware 4 Small Copper Sauce Pot with Lid New w Tag $59.00 Time Remaining: 43m Buy It Now for only: $59.00 |
 Viking Professional Cookware Flat Bottom Wok 13 New $274.95 Time Remaining: 44m Buy It Now for only: $274.95 |
 45 Quart Pot 87045 with Lid 1703 commercial aluminum cookware Toledo Ohio Used $9.99 Time Remaining: 46m |
 Honeywell 14 7 8 by 11 inch Stainless Steel Lid $13.99 Time Remaining: 47m Buy It Now for only: $13.99 |
 Tools of the Trade Basics Casserole 8 Qt Stainless Steel $29.99 Time Remaining: 49m Buy It Now for only: $29.99 |
 Le Creuset 23 Orange enamel skillet Frying Pan with pour spouts $14.99 Time Remaining: 49m |
 Red Non Stick 15 Qt Covered Straining saucepan $14.99 Time Remaining: 51m Buy It Now for only: $14.99 |
 Two Vintage Nordic Ware Servo King Sizzling Platters w Bakelite Holder USA NEW $24.99 Time Remaining: 52m |
 Griswold 6 inch Cast Iron Fry Pan NO 3 Erie PA 709J Skillet Vintage $25.49 Time Remaining: 53m Buy It Now for only: $25.49 |
 Jose Maria Barrera Florentine Style Collection Pin Brooch Pendent Earrings $99.99 Time Remaining: 54m Buy It Now for only: $110.00 |
 NEW Le Creuset Stoneware Yellow Rectangular Baking Dish $28.49 Time Remaining: 55m Buy It Now for only: $28.49 |
 RARE LE CREUSET BLACK MATTE 35 QT Round Dutch OVEN $229.00 Time Remaining: 56m |
 GS Steel 6 piece Personal Size Baking Pan Set free shipping $24.95 Time Remaining: 56m Buy It Now for only: $24.95 |
 RARE LE CREUSET BLACK MATTE 275 QT ROUND DUTCH OVEN $169.00 Time Remaining: 57m |
 RARE LE CREUSET 1325 QT BLACK MATTE ROUND DUTCH OVEN $469.00 Time Remaining: 57m |
 RARE LE CREUSET 55 QT BLACK MATTE ROUND DUTCH OVEN $269.00 Time Remaining: 58m |
 Wagner Ware Sydney 6 inch Cast Iron Fry Pan 0 Vintage Skillet $25.49 Time Remaining: 58m Buy It Now for only: $25.49 |
 MStewart Collection Chili Pot 5 Qt Stainless Steel $35.95 Time Remaining: 58m Buy It Now for only: $35.95 |
 NEWCOR REGENCY CERAMIC ENAMEL HEAVY 5QT STOCK Pot Pan BRASS HANDLES 2QT SAUCEPAN $39.96 Time Remaining: 1h 1m Buy It Now for only: $39.96 |
 Blacke Enamel Steamer Colander Strainer Pan with Lid $19.99 Time Remaining: 1h 7m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 BRAND NEW Calphalon Unison Nonstick 12 in Bonus Everyday Pan by Calphalon $89.99 Time Remaining: 1h 10m Buy It Now for only: $89.99 |
 Revere Ware 1801 Copper Clad 2 Quart Pot w Lid Made Under Process Patent 2363973 $19.99 Time Remaining: 1h 12m |
 Corelle Coordinates 6 Piece Shadow Iris Microwave Cookware Set $21.63 Time Remaining: 1h 12m Buy It Now for only: $21.63 |
 LARGE DANSK RECTANGULAR CASSEROLE BAKER MARINE BLUE $19.99 Time Remaining: 1h 14m |
 80 QT Stainless Steel HD Stock Pot w Rack Lid BA79 80 $129.99 Time Remaining: 1h 14m Buy It Now for only: $129.99 |
 Emeril Hard Anodized Nonstick 8 Inch and 12 Inch Fry Pan Set $67.80 Time Remaining: 1h 14m Buy It Now for only: $67.80 |
 New 10 Piece Chefs Classic Stainless Steel Cuisinart Pots and Pans Cookware Set $175.00 Time Remaining: 1h 15m Buy It Now for only: $175.00 |
 ALL CLAD 55 QT ROUND OVEN WITH STAINLESS STEEL LID BRAND NEW $49.99 Time Remaining: 1h 15m Buy It Now for only: $99.99 |
 Paula Deen 3 QT STREAMER Set Stainless STEEL NEW $34.99 Time Remaining: 1h 16m Buy It Now for only: $59.99 |
 BRAND NEW Rachael Ray RECTANGULAR SKILLET WITH SAMMY PRESS $49.99 Time Remaining: 1h 17m Buy It Now for only: $99.99 |
 CROCK POT DOUBLE SLOW COOKER BRAND NEW UNIT $24.99 Time Remaining: 1h 17m Buy It Now for only: $49.99 |
 STAINLESS STEEL FONDUE CAROUSEL SET WITH TRAMONTINA BRASIL MELTING POT $68.95 Time Remaining: 1h 22m Buy It Now for only: $68.95 |
 Wolfgang Puck Stainless Steel 10 Piece Cookware Set Pots Pans Cook Kitchen Ware $129.95 Time Remaining: 1h 22m Buy It Now for only: $129.95 |
 Cuisinart MCP 12 12 Piece Set Cookware Multiclad $279.99 Time Remaining: 1h 22m Buy It Now for only: $279.99 |
 15qt Copper Bottom SAUCE POT $16.00 Time Remaining: 1h 22m Buy It Now for only: $16.00 |
 All Clad LTD2 NEW 3 Qt Pan Roaster w Domed Lid $129.99 Time Remaining: 1h 26m Buy It Now for only: $149.99 |
 WATERLESS 19 Piece Stainless STEEL 7 ply COOKWARE SET $99.95 Time Remaining: 1h 31m |
 Le Creuset HERITAGE 1 1 2 QT PATE TERRINE 32 Cobalt Blue $125.00 Time Remaining: 1h 31m Buy It Now for only: $139.00 |
 MADE IN JAPAN Vegetable Slicer SET with Grater Japanese cookware Brand NEW $24.99 Time Remaining: 1h 36m Buy It Now for only: $24.99 |
 MADE IN JAPAN Vegetable Slicer Grater SET Replacement Type Japanese cookware NEW $19.99 Time Remaining: 1h 36m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 16 Wok Pan With Double Handle $24.99 Time Remaining: 1h 38m Buy It Now for only: $24.99 |
 New Kitchen Non Stick Aluminum Alloy 9 inch Pizza Pan $5.00 Time Remaining: 1h 38m |
 |
EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale, Silver List Price: Sale Price: $25.00 You save: $9.95 (28%)  |
 |
Presto 04820 PopLite hot air popper List Price: Sale Price: $15.75 You save: $14.24 (47%) |
 |
Cuisinart CSB-76BC SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender, Brushed Chrome List Price: Sale Price: $29.95 You save: $35.05 (54%) |
 |
Lodge Logic L10SK3 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet List Price: Sale Price: $20.95 You save: $6.55 (24%) |
 |
Wilton 570-1121 Easy Flex 3-Piece Silicone Spatula Set, Blue List Price: Sale Price: $5.91 You save: $4.08 (41%) |
 |
Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator List Price: Sale Price: $55.99 You save: $24.00 (30%) |
 |
Hamilton Beach 33967 Set 'n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker List Price: Sale Price: $36.00 You save: $23.99 (40%) |
 |
Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat, 11 5/8 x 16 1/2-inches, Half Sheet Size List Price: Sale Price: $15.95 You save: $11.04 (41%) |
 |
Cuisinart CPB-300 SmartPower 15-Piece Compact Portable Blending/Chopping System, Black List Price: Sale Price: $42.99 You save: $87.01 (67%) |
 |
Totally Bamboo 20-7930 3-Piece Cutting Board Set Sale Price: $14.95 |
Regal Ware
Thank You. We hope you found the
Regal Ware
you were looking for.