Untitled

FN Souza

The female nudes are at the heart of Francis Newton Souza’s practice. In this work, he renders a delicate drawing of the female form, almost as if the pencil traces and caresses her, with a sophisticated portrayal devoid of any trace of overt sexuality, often seen in his works.

In 1962, the artist’s biographer Edwin Mullins notes that his depiction of the female form “[…] clearly have their origins in Indian stone carvings and bronzes. Yet in spirit they are not traditional […] On the whole his paintings of nudes are more gentle than most of his other work; they have less impassioned ferocity about them. At the same time they are often perverse and obsessed. The inelegant sexual poses, the blunt emphasis on the pregnant belly, the ravaged face. They suggest a personal fascination with the female body, blended with an almost Swiftian disgust with its natural functions” (Souza, London, 1962, p. 43).