Page 224 - Iconic Masters October2023

Lot No. 187
KRISHEN KHANNA
b. 1925

UNTITLED
15 x 20 x 15.5 in (38.1 x 50.8 x 39.3 cm)
Bronze
Signed: On the reverse
` 10,00,000 - 15,00,000 | $ 11,765 - 17,647

Provenance: Property from a collection based in New
Delhi. Artwork was acquired by the present owner
directly from the artist.

This lot will be offered without a reserve.

One of acclaimed modernist Krishen Khanna’s recurring
subjects is the iconic imagery of the Pieta. It depicts
a seated Mother Mary as she cradles Christ after his
descent from the cross. His preoccupation with utilising Front View
Christ and his persecution as an allegory first began
when, upon his return from England, his father brought
him a copy of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper. He also
spent several summers at Franciscan brother Joseph
Gardener’s vicarage where he grew fascinated with
the Bible and its many stories.

He first delved into biblical imagery in the 1960s
depicting Christ to symbolise the plight of the common
man and his enduring fascination with the subject of
death. Among his many revered biblical works are
interpretations of The Last Supper, Christ’s descent
from the cross, Pieta and Emmaus.

The artist working on the presented lot.