Indian painter-sculptor Tyeb Mehta's 1956 artwork "Trussed Bull" went under the hammer at the 5th Anniversary Live Sale of Saffronart in Mumbai on April 2 and fetched Rs 61.80 crore.
It was sold at nearly nine times its higher estimate, making it the second-most expensive Indian piece sold at the auction. Saffron Art India shared the image on their Instagram handle.
The artwork shows the bull's hands and legs bound together, and it appears to be struggling, possibly in pain. Mr Mehta used bold colours and strong lines to make his painting more impactful.
The background is minimal so that the eyes can stay focused on the bull. He has also used flat colours such as red and brown to depict pain and violence.
This year also commemorates the birth centennial of Mr Mehta, who died in 2009.
A Gujarat-born artist, Mr Mehta was fascinated with bull figures when he was young. After graduating from the Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai in 1952, he often saw bulls at the slaughterhouse in the Bandra suburbs and Kennedy Bridge in South Bombay.
He felt very emotional when he saw how strong the bulls were, but at the same time, how cruel it was that they were tied up and trapped.
In an interview with art historian and curator Yashodhara Dalmia, he explained the relevance of the bull in his artwork. He stated, "As the discovery of an image, the trussed bull was important for me on several levels. As a statement of great energy… blocked or tied up. The way they tie up the animal's legs and fling it on the floor of the slaughterhouse before butchering it…you feel something very vital has been lost."
He added that just like a bull was strong but tied up, people, too, had strength but often felt stuck in life. He shared his feelings and presented his past trauma in his artwork. During the 1947 Partition, he saw someone killed outside his home, and that event was etched in his memory.
Mr Mehta's oil painting shares the record with Amrita Sher-Gil's 'The Story Teller,' which was sold for the same price in 2023.
The most expensive Indian painting sold at an auction was MF Hussain's Untitled, auctioned for Rs 118 crore last month in New York.
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