Book Discussion at IIC turns the Lens on F.N. Souza’s Naked Women

A panel discussion at the India International Centre brings Janieta Singh’s bold biography of F.N Souza and themes of feminism to the table.

In an exciting panel held at the India International Centre, the book F.N. Souza: The Archetypal Artist became an icebreaker — it transformed taboo conversations into a public discourse. Anchored by veteran journalist and moderator Nidheesh Tyagi, the discussion brought together art historian Dr. Alka Pande, author Janieta Singh, and IIC Director K.N. Shrivastava for a layered exploration of Souza’s irreverent genius and his entanglement with themes of identity, sexuality, and spirituality.

The conversation was anything but conventional. Both Singh and Pande boldly interpreted Souza’s often controversial depictions of the female form through a feminist lens, turning long-held critiques of his “hypersexuality” on their head. Rather than viewing the women in Souza’s paintings as objects of male desire, the panel reimagined them as empowered archetypes, embodiments of agency and raw life force.

Conference of Experts at India International Center

Dr. Alka Pande, deeply versed in Indian aesthetics, drew compelling connections between Souza’s rotund, sensual women and ancient depictions of Ajanta, The Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-Daro, Lajja Gauri and erotic sculptures of Khajuraho. These weren’t merely influences, she argued, but rooted iconographies that Souza instinctively returned to — reclaiming a native visual language of feminine power. She also referenced imagery from ancient coins to highlight how womanhood, in Indian tradition, was once revered as divine and autonomous, a sensibility Souza seemed to echo in his modernist vocabulary.

Author Janieta Singh, whose 12-year research culminated in this bold psychoanalytic biography, emphasized how Souza’s women aren’t there to be consumed — they confront. Her book positions Souza not as a provocateur for provocation’s sake, but as an artist deeply engaged with the psychological and philosophical dimensions of human desire, filtered through Jungian thought and East-West Philosophy.

Together, Singh and Pande brought a rare feminist discourse to Souza’s work — one that neither demonized nor romanticized, but rather complicated his representation of women. It was this reframing that became the central force of the evening: seeing Souza’s art not as the sum of its sensuality, but as a mirror to our own cultural contradictions.

K.N. Shrivastava, setting the institutional tone, acknowledged the importance of such dialogues in reframing the narratives around India’s modernist greats. He noted the significance of hosting this conversation at IIC, a space that has long fostered critical discourse on Indian art and culture.

Post-Colonial and Feminist Discourse in F.N Souza’s Paintings

As the discussion unfolded, it became clear that F.N. Souza: The Archetypal Artist is not merely about one man’s life, but about the aesthetic and emotional undercurrents that ripple through a nation’s postcolonial psyche. Colonialism fundamentally disrupted the Indian imagination, especially in its understanding of the erotic and the sacred feminine.

Pre-colonial Indian art, from temple sculptures at Khajuraho to miniature paintings and depictions of Yoginis, embraced the nude female form as a powerful symbol of fertility, divinity, and cosmic energy. These images were not seen as obscene but as integral expressions of life, desire, and spiritual transcendence.

However, with the advent of Victorian moral codes imposed by British colonizers, the Indian gaze on the body—particularly the female body—underwent a dramatic shift. The colonial lens recast these age-old artistic traditions as indecent or backward, embedding shame into the very act of depicting nudity.

What was once sacred became scandalous. This imposed prudishness not only stifled artistic expression but also fractured the continuity of India’s aesthetic traditions, leaving a legacy of cultural dissonance that artists like F.N. Souza later confronted head-on through their provocative, often scandalizing, reclaiming of the erotic.

Feature Image Courtesy- AbirPothi