"His [M.F. Husain’s] own work of that time celebrates the experience and the sensation of love, while mourning the loss of love that he could already see ahead [...] Husain painted musicians and dancers, horses and bathers, nudes and lovers." (R. Bartholomew & S. Kapur, Husain, New York, 1972, p. 41)

In Mithun III, painted in 1963, Maqbool Fida Husain reveals a tender depiction of a man sitting with his reclining lover, bathed in moonlight, enshrouded by a blue night sky. To the side of the outstretched woman Husain places a deliberately ambiguous animal that hovers between the mortal and the divine. The title, Mithun, literally meaning couple or lovers, is derived from the Sanskrit term mithuna used to describe the loving couples found in classical Indian painting and temple sculpture. This enigmatic representation has been used to symbolize fertility, union, the divine and worldly pleasure. Husain, in the first half of the 1960s, turned to this theme of mithuna several times,most notably in his iconic painting of the same name from 1964.

The portrayal of the feminine is an integral part of Husain’s compositions. The female figure in Husain’s work is often influenced by classical Indian sculpture, yet remains characterized by the artist's instantly recognizable, angular lines. “Husain’s women are always enshrouded in an invisible veil, the simplicity of their form countered by their inaccessibility” (Y. Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, New Delhi, 2001, p. 111). In Mithun III Husain constructs a poetic, beguiling image that draws the viewer in with nuanced layers and displays Husain at his lyrical best, conjuring an image of intimacy and divinity. Husain’s bold lines become softer while his application of paint becomes more gestural giving his forms a sense of sculptural monumentality. “Even if the figures are not in motion, the curvilinear forms, their stances, the rhythmic lines, the use of paint are all employed with a sense of urgency and create a feeling of exuberance which is typical of him [Husain] and his personality." (P. Sen, 'The Figure in Indian Art', Lalit Kala Contemporary 17, Delhi, 1974, p. 11)