Still Life with Veronica's Veil and the Accoutrements of Christ's Passion, by F. N. Souza, 1984
Acrylic on Board, 30 x 24 in
Francis Newton Souza grew up in the 1920s and 30s, in a devout Roman Catholic family in Saligão in a Goa that was under Portuguese rule. The church formed a big part of his identity as a child, but his beliefs turned to disenchantment when he faced ostracism for his art, which was often condemned as obscene or blasphemous.
Feeling let down, Souza, one of the co-founders of Mumbai’s Progressive Artists’ Group, turned his artistic gaze on what he saw as the hypocrisies of religion. This one is Lot 49 of a total of 77 artworks by Souza that will be part of a live auction by Saffronart on 14 September, being held to celebrate 100 years of Souza.
While Souza osten-sibly drew the Veil of Veronica, a respected relic from before Christ’s crucifixion, as well as the objects that indicated his suffering at the time, his strong strokes and the liberal use of black underline his complex relationship with Christ in this painting.
The artwork is said to have been impacted by his viewing Georges Rouault’s La Sainte Face, 1946, from the Vatican Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1983. While the effect was deep indeed, the resulting painting does not provide the saintly solace that the devout derive from the Passion of Christ. Rather, Souza seems to make a powerful statement on the futility of faith.
...Francis Newton Souza grew up in the 1920s and 30s, in a devout Roman Catholic family in Saligão in a Goa that was under Portuguese rule. The church formed a big part of his identity as a child, but his beliefs turned to disenchantment when he faced ostracism for his art, which was often condemned as obscene or blasphemous.
Feeling let down, Souza, one of the co-founders of Mumbai’s Progressive Artists’ Group, turned his artistic gaze on what he saw as the hypocrisies of religion. This one is Lot 49 of a total of 77 artworks by Souza that will be part of a live auction by Saffronart on 14 September, being held to celebrate 100 years of Souza.
While Souza osten-sibly drew the Veil of Veronica, a respected relic from before Christ’s crucifixion, as well as the objects that indicated his suffering at the time, his strong strokes and the liberal use of black underline his complex relationship with Christ in this painting.
The artwork is said to have been impacted by his viewing Georges Rouault’s La Sainte Face, 1946, from the Vatican Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1983. While the effect was deep indeed, the resulting painting does not provide the saintly solace that the devout derive from the Passion of Christ. Rather, Souza seems to make a powerful statement on the futility of faith.