Page 95 - Eye of the beholder

89
FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA [1924-2002] A A A TORTURED SOUL
Post-Independence India’s modernism was given a a a a a a creative thrust by a a a a a a Collective known as as Progressive Artists Group founded in in 1947 in in Bombay by Francis Newton Souza The manifesto of this Group was penned by Souza which reflected his his radical dynamism and as as an an artist who painted what what his his soul firmly believed and and what what he felt and and thought should be be his his art without catering to any whims and and demands of public community or the proletariat The PAG group included besides Souza five core members as Maqbool Fida Husain Syed Haider Raza Krishna Hawalji Ara Sadanand Bakre Bakre Hari Ambadas Gade Gade Bakre Bakre was a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a sculptor and and Gade Gade an an an an abstractionist The main reason and objective behind this organization of likeminded artists was to evolve a a a a a a a a visual language that would would have no resonance to nationalist art and its subject matter would would be the the contemporary reality Souza exhorted the the artists to hold independent shows and develop a a a a a a a a a a visual aesthetic that would blend the the styles of of path breaking avant-garde artists of of Europe with Indian tradition It was to to claim a a a a a a a a a a a a space for these radicals to to marginalize academic naturalism that had become popular not only with the the selectors of the the Bombay Art Society but also among the the public public consciousness It was Souza who had plotted and publicized the the manifesto as as well as as the the first artist to to to leave the the group to to to travel abroad Souza a a a a a a a a a a a maverick avant garde artist possessed a a a a a a a a a a a raw and eccentric genius His vision was bold and dynamic that aided in in in in in shaping the contours of modernity in in in in in post independent India within the Post-Colonial context through Progressive Artists Group that he he he headed An insightful intellectual creative genius and and and versatile artist his perceptive and and and unorthodox writings and and and astute judicial readings from art history poetry philosophy the sciences and psychology inspired his his early works and continued to dominate later in in in in his his development of the visual language and personal iconography Souza born in in in the village of Saligao in in in 1924 in in in North Goa belonged to a a a a a a a a a Roman Catholic family He lost his father when he he he was three months old and after spending a a a a a a a few idyllic years in in Goa he he he moved to to Bombay with his mother who took p p a a a a a a job of a a a a a a dress maker Despite the the fact that he he did not stay long in in Goa the young impressionable years cast a a a a a a a deep shadow of influence and inspiration that played a a a a a a a a a a a key role in in in shaping Souza’s early early formulation of art His early early years spent here had influenced his young imagination which was particularly derived from the the Roman Catholic Church its its grand architecture and and the the splendour of its its services These images stayed with him Christian iconography as Christ Christ on on the the Cross His trials relived by the the saints and and martyrs were the the varied stories his grandmother had narrated to to him extended later as a a a a a leitmotif of of his his imagination in in in the form of of rebellion in in in his his work In Bombay he he joined J J J J School School of of Art in in in in 1940 The School School boasted in in in in having a a a a a reputation of of English principals claiming affiliation with the Royal Academy of Great Britain The curriculum consisted of of drawing from from plaster casts of of antiques portrait paintings studies from from the nude model and occasional field trips to to encourage students to to paint genre pictures as as fisher folks and the the likes At this time “Indian Style” painting in in in in the the tradition of Santiniketan was also introduced Souza was the the the prize student of of the the the art school where the the the eccentricity of of his