Untitled (Bois des Amants)

This painting by Raza, Untitled (Bois des Amants or Lovers’ Wood), shows us two white figures cloaked in nature and its colours. Painted in 1964, soon after he met Mark Rothko, Hans Hoffman and other contemporaries, the work displays the influence of abstract expressionism. The landscape is made with Raza’s expert use of colour and has been recognised for its differing use of abstract form, especially in its allusion to human presence, which was conspicuously absent from most of his work. It has been suggested that the work could be a nod to the famous 1960 French film, Les Bois des Amants.