Francis Newton Souza

Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002)

The Paraclete 1962

Oil on canvas

36.5 in X 28.5 in

Private collection

Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002)

Head of Christ 1948

Oil on masonite

65.58 x 66.04

Private collection

F.N. Souza 1924-2002

Crucifixion 1959

Oil on board

Support: 1831 x 1220 mm frame: 1952 x 1341 x 65 mm

painting

Tate Collection, London

F.N. Souza 1924-2002

Two Saints in a Landscape 1961

Acrylic on canvas

support: 1283 x 959 mm

painting

Tate Collection, London

Francis Newton Souza (1924 - 2002)

St. Francis 1961

Oil on canvas

33 x 24 1/8 in. (83.8 x 61.3 cm.)

Private collection

Souza, who died in 2002, was born in Goa and lived in London, Rome and New York.

Known for his bold compositions, Souza is the only Indian artist to have a room dedicated to his works at Tate Britain.

Souza's most enduring themes revolve around his Roman Catholic background and his antagonism towards it

However his 1948 "Head of Christ" was marked "Not for sale"

He is often compared to Rouault, Oskar Kokoscha and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner amongst others

However critic John Berger said that 'he straddles many traditions but serves none'

He was born into a strict Roman Catholic family. As a child Souza suffered from a serious attack of smallpox and his mother vowed that if he ever survived she would try to make her son become a Jesuit priest.

As a gesture of gratitude, his mother also added the name "Francis" to his christened name "Newton" in reverence to St. Francis Xavier S J, the patron saint of Goa.

He attended St Xavier’s, a prestigious Jesuit school in Bombay.

Although Souza never became a Jesuit or a priest, religious imagery was a powerful source of inspiration for him especially during the first few decades of his career.

Souza stated that "the Roman Catholic Church had a tremendous influence over me, not its dogmas but its grand architecture and the splendour of its services...The priest dressed in richly embroidered vestments, the wooden saints painted with gold and bright colors staring vacantly out of their niches. The smell of incense. And the enormous crucifix with the impaled image of Man supposed to be the Son of God scourged and dripping, with matted hair tangled in plaited thorns." (Souza, 1959, p. 10.)