The horse became a central part of Maqbool Fida Husain’s oeuvre in the early 1950s, when he first painted the animal. The artist almost always portrays his equine figures as strong creatures, usually galloping, with reared heads, flared nostrils and a tremendous sense of dynamism. His inspiration to paint horses was derived from a combination of sources, notably his travels in China and Italy, where he studied Tang pottery horses and discovered the equestrian sculptures of the artist Marino Marini (1901-1980). However, what is likely to have been even more influential is an event he witnessed for the first time as a fifteen-year-old boy: once a year during Muharram, when the religious mourned the death of Imam Husain, the Prophet’s son, they would carry tazias or effigies of his faithful horse in a procession through the streets. “[...] the earliest icon that he had a part in creating was the apocalyptic horse of the tazias. He was to remain loyal to that icon; it never strayed far from his imagination in his subsequent paintings.” (R. Bartholomew and S. Kapur, Husain, New York, 1971, p. 32)

Husain’s horses are not plastic forms treated to stylistic variations; rather, they are sensuous creatures that have become his personal symbols. In this vibrant painting, the two horses are dramatically framed against a yellow and crimson background with a female figure to their right. The juxtaposition of human and animal is a prevalent theme in the artist’s oeuvre, and he is particularly interested in the pairing of female figures with equine ones, typically in a dynamic and entwined composition. Here, Husain’s horses appear proud, powerful and valiant under a red sky, and their restless forms almost overshadow the featureless lady he has paired them with.

Through his uninhibited use of vivid colors and vigorous brushstrokes in this painting, the artist conveys a sense of raw, unimpeded power. According to Ebrahim Alkazi, horses are usually recognized as symbols of the sun and knowledge, and are associated with life-giving and sustaining forces. Husain’s horses have become “[...] a vehicle for multiple utterances – aggression, power and protection.” (R. Shahani, Let History Cut Across Me Without Me, New Delhi, 1993, p. 8)