Souza’s ‘The Castle’ set for Rs 4 crore auction

Panaji: A rare artwork by one of India’s most celebrated modernist painters, Francis Newton Souza, titled ‘The Castle’, goes under the hammer in an online auction hosted by AstaGuru on Aug 29 and 30 at an estimated price range of Rs 4 to 6 crore.

Executed in 1957, it is an oil painting on Masonite board measuring 48 by 30 inches.“Souza’s ‘The Castle’ is an extraordinary example of his early architectural works, yet it stands apart for its striking individuality,” Sunny Chandiramani, director of client relations at AstaGuru, told TOI.

The work exemplifies Souza’s distinctive style with bold, black outlines that reduce the castle’s forms into sharp, angular geometric planes, lending the structure a palpable sense of solidity and tension.

Unlike Souza’s more familiar cityscapes crowded with life and complexity, this work focuses on a single, resolute architectural form rendered in a striking vertical format.“Painted in 1957, at a time when Souza was cementing his place as a pioneering modernist voice, the work departs from his more familiar clustered cityscapes to present a single, resolute structure. Its vertical format, unusual within his practice, and the dramatic interplay between the darkened outlines of the castle and the fiery glows within, make it one of his most haunting and memorable architectural visions,” Chandiramani said.

“The Castle is not only a testament to Souza’s command over mood and form, but also a rare, museum-quality work that reveals the sheer intensity and eloquence of his art at this stage of his career,” he added.The painting comes from a Mumbai-based collection but originally belonged to Harold Kovner, a notable patron of Souza who supported the artist during a formative period in his career. ‘The Castle’ was previously auctioned by Sotheby’s, a global marketplace for fine art, luxury goods, and collectibles.The auction provides a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire a masterpiece that reflects Souza’s bold experimentation with form and mood during the 1950s. The online auction will be held over two days, Aug 29 and 30, inviting bids from around the world for this iconic piece of Indian art history.