“We all know that Art is not the Truth.
Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth,
At least the truth that is given to us to understand.”
—Pablo Picasso

(Mr. Souza was a great admirer of Picasso)

F.N. Souza was born in Salgaon, Goa on April 12, 1924.

For aficionados of art his terse, crazy, bold and profoundly emotional expressions will always remain oven-fresh.

Mr. Souza was a rebel in the true sense. He was named after the patron saint of Goa by his mother after being cured of an attack of smallpox. He lost his father when he was three months old. Never could forgive himself for his father’s death. His mother then moved to Mumbai with her children. She worked as a seamstress and single-handedly brought up her children.

By the age of sixteen young Francis was expelled from the school for drawing nudes.
He was an avid reader and prolific writer, but this act disturbed the Jesuit school authorities. He then joined the J.J. School of Arts and successfully mastered the curriculum, which was a strange mix of British and Indian sensibilities. At that time Bombay was “More Victorian than Victoria…” But he was expelled from the J.J. School because he supported the ‘Quit India’ movement.

Souza was one of the founder members of the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group, along with Husain, Bakre and Gaitonde. Later on, Mr. Souza studied in London and Paris. His work got noticed. He held his first show in a prestigious gallery in London. Mr. John Berger (author of “Ways of Seeing”) was among the first to spot this young talent. He applauded the paintings. F.N. Souza had arrived.

Among numerous awards, he won the Guggenheim International Award in 1958 and the Kalidas Sanman in 1998.

Gentleman
by F.N. Souza

He was profoundly dissatisfied with things as they are. In a rationalized existence impulsive emotion is a taboo. Plato had said, “…He who, without the Muse’s madness in his soul, indicts in his sober senses is beaten hollow by the poetry of madness…”
Souza’s works come to mind.
Two quotes were especially important to Souza:
“Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, but in a cultivated eye.”
“Nature is the soul principle.”
These two quotes, the first one by Plato, may have added to the halo of artistic power that surrounded Souza.

He was a true bohemian. His lust for life had consequences: several failed marriages and estranged children. Except for a few friends no one was present for his quiet funeral in Mumbai.

You have to view a Souza painting in its actuality—not an image of it—to experience its full impact. His paintings resonate with raw energy. Souza fakes are also in great demand—he was aware of that. His painting, “Birth” sold for a record $2.5 million at a Christie’s auction in London on June 11, 2008. It is 8 by 4 feet, oil on board, done in 1955. A large nude, about to give birth, dominates the painting. She is not in pain. There is also a somber-faced male, fully clothed. It carries a hint of religiosity and a typical Souza cityscape outside the window.

In the late eighties I was working as a free-lance designer for the Max Mueller Bhavan (MMB) in Pune, designing jazz posters, brochures, a monthly program bulletin, etc. They seemed to like my work and also organized a one-man show of my black and white art photographs, “Off Sights 2”. I was asked by the then Director, Mr. Waldraff to represent the Pune branch of the MMB at the East-West Visual Art Encounter to be held at NCPA, Bombay. It was a 15-day seminar. I chose to join the seminar as an observer. Important artistes from India and abroad were part of the seminar. All the out station artists and myself were put up in Hotel Grand at Ballard Pier, Mumbai. The seminar was grueling but delightful: Lectures from 8 a.m. till 7 p.m., film and slide shows, artists talking about their work, group discussions. It was also replete with hot, opinionated debates. There would be parties in the evenings at some consulate or other, or at some important person’s home. Mr. Souza was a part of the seminar. In fact we were staying on the same floor at the hotel. Mr. Souza was quiet throughout. Except for the occasional remark, he was simply observant. I think he was determined not to open up. (I was in awe of all the greats around me and kept a respectful distance).

A few days before I’d mustered some courage and asked for an appointment with him.
“Anytime” he said. I knocked on his door. “Come in. It is open” said a voice, coughing. As I opened the door I couldn’t see anything. It was as if I was veering into a cloud. The air conditioner was whirring. Gradually my eyes adjusted to the poor light. Mr. Souza was standing by the window smoking a thick cigar, wearing dark grey trousers and a pale grey full-sleeved shirt which was not tucked in. The ashtray on the side table nearby was full. By then I was a familiar face because of the last few days. But I introduced myself. He nodded and gave a faint smile. He asked me to sit down. I presented him with an L.P. record: Sitar/Ustad Vilayat Khan, I think. After a minute’s silence, he started talking about existentialism, and religion and it’s inevitability. Most of it was difficult to follow at one go and I told him so. He then gave me a ten-page essay he’d written on his interpretation of theology and a new religion that he had conceptualized.

This took place long ago and I cannot find this essay. Artists of Mr. Souza’s talent occur but rarely in the grand scheme of things and on the “Rangmanch” (stage) we call our world.

F.N. Souza (1924-2002)
 

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* This article first appeared in the special 100-day issue of the "Pune Mirror” (Times of India) on Monday, July 14, 2008.

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