Two Prophets in One

Primarily a sculptor, S. K. Bakre’s paintings had a sculptural quality about them— something that becomes evident in Two Prophets in One that uses a mid-twentieth century cubist trope of merging profiles wherein one face is revealed as two. Bakre separates them through the colour of their pupils and lips. With almost no other distinguishing feature, the absence of hair indicates the possibility that they are monks—which would square with the title of the painting, though Bakre had no known allegiance to theological subjects in his practice.