October 28, 2016 - 17:02 AMT
Modernist Syed Haider Raza's masterpiece for sale at Bonhams

Syed Haider Raza’s Paysage Nocturne (1960) is a masterpieces of South Asian modernism. Recently discovered, it will be auctioned for the first time at Bonhams’ Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art sale on 22 November. The work is estimated at £30,000-50,000, Art Daily reports.

Syed Haider Raza (1922-2016, India) was a founding member of the Progressive Artists Group formed in Bombay (alongside M.F. Husain, F.N. Souza, K.H. Ara and H.A. Gade) in 1947. Together, these Indian artists attempted to escape the confines of colonial ‘high art’ through new stylistic methods.

In 1950 Raza received a bursary from the French Government to study at the prestigious École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Moving to France, the artist was exposed to the Post-Impressionists (notably Cezanne and Van Gogh) whose experimental use of composition and colour inspired the development of his work, in particular a shift from watercolour to oil paint.

Having initially exhibited alongside other Indian modernists at Galerie St. Placide and Galerie Creuz, from 1955 until 1971 Raza exhibited exclusively with Galerie Lara Vincy where he achieved critical and commercial success. Lara Vincy’s gallery was in the Saint-Germain district, home to the bohemian literati of the Existentialist movement and the Parisian Jazz scene.

Under Vincy’s guidance, Raza was awarded the prestigious Prix de La Critique. With the global recognition this brought, Raza enjoyed international presence with exhibitions at the Venice, Brussels and Sao Paulo Biennales. Last year Raza was awarded the highest possible honour for a French civilian, the Legion d’honneur.

In early 2016 the first catalogue raisonné of Raza’s work was published - completed weeks before the artist’s death. This preliminary volume comprised works listed in the Galerie Lara Vincy inventory. Paysage Nocturne (the striking Raza up for auction at Bonhams) was discovered soon after publication. This celebrated addition to the artist’s canon now comes to the market for the first time. With its dramatic and colourful structure and heavy impasto, Paysage Nocturne is testament to Raza’s influences – both the French Impressionist and Indian modernist drive to innovate.

Photo: Bonhams