Francis Newton Souza: L’Enfant Terrible

Speaker: Ratan Parimoo

March 14, 2003 | 6.30 pm
Little Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai

Francis Newton Souza, (1924-2002), the Goa-born Indian painter who lived most of his creative life in England and USA, was known as the’ Enfant Terrible ‘ of Modern Indian Art. This lecture, which almost coincides with his first death anniversary, is an attempt to recreate his formative years, now regarded as the great moment of the birth of modern art in India at the threshold of achieving independence from colonial rule. Souza produced some of his significant works during the first half of his career, marked by a predominance of the female body and sexuality, yet he was preoccupied with Christian subject matter, which will also be reviewed. Since Souza reconciled sin and spirituality in his creative oeuvre, the speaker hopes to explore the possible psychoanalytical undercurrents in his artworks.