WASHINGTON, D.C. - Providing a rare view into the early manifestations of M F Hussain’s favorite subjects, Brown University will hold an exhibition of paintings by the legendary Indian artist from February 5 to March 26.

A member of the prestigious Ivy League group of institutions, Brown University will host the exhibition as a part of its ‘Year of India’ initiative, jointly with Cogut Centre for the Humanities and in collaboration with David Winton Bell Gallery.

“Hussain’s paintings are unique for their profundity and their playfulness, for their ability to explore themes of cultural history and legacy in a context of explosive color and beauty,” said Michael Steinberg, Director of the Cogut Centre for the Humanities.

“This union of visual art and humanistic inquiry makes for an ideal collaborative project between the Cogut Centre and the Bell Gallery, as well as a perfect celebration of the Year of India,” Steinberg said.

MF Hussain’s early masterpieces, dated between 1950s-70s, are drawn from the collection of Amrita Jhaveri, a 1991 Brown graduate, who is also a specialist in 20th-century Indian art.

The author of ‘A Guide to 101 Modern and Contemporary Indian Artists’, Jhaveri will deliver a lecture at the university on March 22.

The exhibition will feature 12 paintings of Hussain between 1954 and 1971 on a range of his favorite subjects: ‘life on the streets,’ ‘woman and horse’ (together and apart), and mythological and religious personages.

‘Amusement in the Street’ and ‘The Puppet Dancers,’ apart of the collection, depict forms of street entertainment.

Virile horses in full gallop or rearing with heads thrown back, are a leitmotif in Hussain’s work.

Chariot of the Sun God depicts the seven horses that draw the Sun God chariot across the sky.

The painting in oil and Chinese lacquer was created after Hussain’s trip to China in 1953, where he learned and experimented with the ancient technique.

Hussain’s interest in Indian mythology is represented in the exhibition on Draupadi, the heroine of epic Mahabharata. In the painting, she is represented as a large female figure with her husbands depicted on her body in miniature.

The painting is one of 29 that were created for the São Paulo Biennale in 1971. Hussain and Picasso were the only artists to be specifically invited to the Biennale.            (PTI)