Maqbool Fida Husain (Indian, 1915-2011) Untiled (Blue boy atop Nandini)Maqbool Fida Husain (Indian, 1915-2011)Untiled (Blue boy atop Nandini) signed in Devanagiri upper right and signed and dated '69 versooil on canvas, framed75.6 x 50cm (29 3/4 x 19 11/16in).CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF THE PROGRESSIVE ARTISTSProvenanceAcquired from the artist in 2007.Husain was a self-confessed believer and a practising Muslim, however he respected all religions, and depicted their iconography in his works throughout his career. It was in the late 1960s that he portrayed the Hindu epics with his paintings on the Ramayana and the Mahabharata series, in order to get closer to his roots.In this work from 1969, Krishna is depicted seated atop Nandini, the cow. Nandini was created by Krishna from the left side of his body, when Radha and Krishna were enjoying a dalliance and thirsted for milk. Whilst consuming the milk, the milk pot fell and spilt on the ground. The spilt milk became the cosmic milk ocean, Kshirasagara, and more cows emerged from Nandini. These were presented by Krishna to the cow-heard companions.Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu is the God of protection, compassion, tenderness and love and is one of the most revered among Hindu deities. He is the central character in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana and the Bhagavad Gita, and is also mentioned in numerous Hindu philosophical, theological and mythological texts. Often portrayed as a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero and the universal supreme being, here he is depicted as a young boy playing the flute. In numerous paintings of young Krishna, Husain delineates his facial features clearly. In the current lot we can see Krishna's lips and the blue dot on his forehead. To see a similar example, see K. Bikram Singh, Maqbool Fida Husain, New Delhi, 2008, p.148, figure 124. Husain did not do this for all deities, and likely chose which deities he could depict based on the position they occupied in the hierarchy of Gods. Ram for example is always viewed as a distant and grave deity, and is a reincarnation of Vishnu, the supreme God and therefore his features are not delineated. Young Krishna on the other hand, is playful, a machanchor and is more of a child than an incarnation of God Vishnu. There has always been some contention regarding Husain's depiction of Hindu deities, particularly as a Muslim artist. He was forced into self imposed exile in 2006 after the controversy of his depiction of Parvati. There is, however, no question that Husain is a totally Indian artist. His works adorn Delhi International Airport and shows how the Indian government chooses to greet global visitors upon arrival. It is in his all encompassing Indian identity that Husain's work depicts so many facets of Indian culture, from the sacred to the mundane.