Maqbool Fida Husain, Tripatāka Mudra (Circa 1970s): The Friday Find

12 - 19 December 2025
  • Maqbool Fida Husain, Tripatāka Mudra (Circa 1970s), Circa 1970s

    Maqbool Fida Husain

    Tripatāka Mudra (Circa 1970s), Circa 1970s
    Oil on canvas
    41.5 x 31 cm
    16 3/8 x 12 1/4 in

  • "Some of Husain's symbols are drawn from folk art and are traditional. His manner of using them, however, while retaining the original impulses, takes them beyond their original simple meanings. The human hand for instance, an expressive symbol in Indian dance, recurs frequently in Husain's paintings. It is usually given an independent life, almost separate from the body to which it belongs. It occurs with mystical markings on the palm, is lightly made, sometimes deeply shadowed, enclosed as though upon a secret."

    S. Kapur, Husain, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, 1961, p. vii

  • This is an image taken from the exhibition catalogue of Husain's 1969 exhibition in Geneva, likely at Galerie du Grand-Mezel....
    This is an image taken from the exhibition catalogue of Husain's 1969 exhibition in Geneva, likely at Galerie du Grand-Mezel. It shows several of the symbols employed by Husain throughout his career.  Here Husain paints the Tripatāka mudra, symbolising the sun's rays.
  • Fact sheet:
    Maqbool Fida Husain 1915-2011
    Tripatāka Mudra (Circa 1970s)
    Signed 'Husain' upper right
    Oil on canvas
    41.5 x 31 cm; 16 3/8 x 12 1/4 in

    Provenance:
    Saffronart, Mumbai, 2002;
    Private US Collection
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