F.N. SOUZA | 52 YEARS ON PAPER | 1946 - 1998

     Souza had sketched his first nude at the young age of sixteen. For him, the body was a means to express both torment and fascination. The extraordinary voluptuousness of the female figures in Souza's Nudes are firmly rooted in Indian art historical tradition, with the perfectly rounded breasts and buttocks recalling an entire history of full-bosomed erotic imagery from the Tantric to the Miniaturist. The female figures of Buddhist and Hindu temple sculpture also reflect in his works. Unlike the languorous nudes of Paul Gauguin and Henri Matisse, Souza's figures are somehow both sensuous and brazen.

     These works explore a wide range of physiognomies from the most sublime and tender nudes to distorted and grotesque figures, expressing the artist's complex views on the human condition, corruption, sexuality and religion

Souza's 'heads' dominated his oeuvre from the 1940s onwards. With distorted features on scarred faces - at times an allusion to the scars he retained from contracting smallpox as a child - these portraits represent both, a sense of self-deprecation and a critique of human society. As Souza's heads evolved, the trademarks cross-hatching technique in his early years, came to be replaced by alien-like loops, whorls and tentacles. These futuristic heads were "a spontaneous re-creation of the world as he has seen it, distilled in the mind by a host of private experiences and associations." (Edwin Mullins, Souza, London: Anthony Blond Ltd., 1962, p. 39)

     By incorporating the spiritual influences of his childhood within tightly ordered compositions, Souza created a body of works where religion and Modernity coexist.  After moving to England in 1949, Souza was granted a government scholarship and research trip to Europe. Plunged into the complex and vibrant cityscapes of Rome and Amsterdam, Souza’s experience of various metropoles across the continent was evidently an important source of inspiration. 

     Souza emigrated to New York in 1967 and while travelling around America in the mid 70s He painted colourful cityscapes and landscapes of the places he visited.

     'Souza has succeeded in creating images which are entirely personal, yet recognizable at the same time. They are often distorted to the point of destruction - houses no more than lopsided cubes...but they never threaten to dissolve into formalized abstract shapes. The violence and speed with which they were executed keep these images, however distorted, in touch with the painter's vision of what they really are.' (E. Mullins, Souza, Anthony Blond Ltd., London, 1962, p. 37).

FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA (1924 - 2002)

Souza was born in the Portuguese colony of Goa in 1924 into a strict Roman Catholic family. His upbringing was marked by what he saw as the conflict between the erotic Indian art surrounding him, and the repressive teachings of the Catholic Church. This duality of what he called 'sin and sensuality' was to significantly shape his art. Souza's canvases alternate from spiky, deformed faceless bodies and violent scenes of Christ's crucifixion, to sensual and statuesque nudes and tender portrayals of mother and child.

Souza's work is often evaluated within the context of his Indian contemporaries, namely the Progressives, of which he was a founding member. Indeed, it is important to recognise the groups shared passion to break free from conservative teachings following India's Independence in 1947, and when Souza's works are placed alongside those of artists such as Raza, Padamsee and Husain the similarities are clear. 

However, Souza's works do not sit comfortably within any one frame of thought and critic John Berger's words that 'he straddles many traditions but serves none' rings as true today as when they were first written in the New Statesman in 1955. Souza made London his home between 1949 and 1967, with spells in Paris and Rome, after which he emigrated to the USA, finally settling in New York where he resided until his death in 2002. 

Likewise, the social context within which Souza lived and painted and his strength of character are being brought into view. From his very beginnings, with the death of his father and sister during his childhood, Souza struggled against adversity. He fought for and achieved recognition against racism, conservatism and poverty to achieve one-man shows and international awards. Souza's energy never abated for new ideas and new techniques, from his use of light boxes to project images onto canvases, to his early experimentation with chemical solvents, acrylics and monochrome painting. 

Like other great artists of the Twentieth Century, Souza was neither daunted by tradition nor disparaging of contemporary visual culture. Instead he adopted various notions and visual references from such sources as the old masters, his contemporaries, and commercial imagery appropriating them to create his own distinct works. In no other case is it more appropriate for a new adjective; 'Souzaesque'.

Souza was not only a prolific painter but also a writer, poet and even philosopher. His legacy is only just coming to light and there is much more to research. We can all look forward to discovering more about him in time to come.