Record Breaking Auction: Tyeb Mehta's 'Trussed Bull' Sells For ₹61.8cr

In a significant moment for Indian art, Tyeb Mehta's 1956 painting Trussed Bull was recently sold for ₹61.8 crore at a Saffronart auction in Mumbai. This makes it the second most expensive Indian artwork ever sold at an auction, tying with Amrita Sher-Gil's The Storyteller, which fetched the same amount in September 2023. The sale, which exceeded the estimated value nearly nine times, highlights Mehta's lasting impact on modern Indian art. The most expensive Indian artwork to be auctioned is MF Husain’s Gram Yatra, which sold at Christie’s in New York for ₹118 crore in March 2025.

This auction also marked a milestone for Saffronart, which celebrated its 25th anniversary with a record-breaking sale, totaling ₹217.87 crore, the highest ever for an Indian auction house. CEO Dinesh Vazirani emphasized the significance of this moment, particularly as it coincides with Mehta’s centenary year.

Tyeb Mehta: A Legacy Built on Artistic Integrity

Tyeb Mehta, known for his bold and evocative imagery, often depicted themes of struggle, suffering, and resilience. His work frequently reflected the turmoil of the Partition, urban hardships, and social unrest, with Trussed Bull symbolizing both physical and emotional constraints.

Born in 1925 in Kapadvanj, Gujarat, Tyeb Mehta initially worked as a film editor before pursuing painting. His early works were influenced by European modernists, particularly Francis Bacon, whose raw, distorted figures inspired his approach to form and expression. Reflecting on his artistic journey, Mehta once remarked, "When you are young, you try to understand the world. As you grow old, you try to understand yourself."

Despite his paintings now commanding astronomical prices, Mehta himself led a modest life. For years, he lived in a small one-room apartment in Mumbai, relying on the support of his wife, Sakina, who worked as a teacher. It wasn't until the 1990s that they could afford a larger home. Yet, financial struggles never deterred him from staying true to his artistic vision.

The Trussed Bull: A Symbol of Captivity and Struggle

Tyed Mehta often used the bull as a metaphor for suffering, drawing from both personal experiences and larger socio-political realities. The restrained animal in Trussed Bull reflects a world grappling with constraints, whether personal, societal, or political. This theme of struggle later evolved into his famous series on the falling figure, reinforcing his artistic exploration of tension and movement.

The bull remained one of the most powerful and recurring symbols in Mehta's art, a subject he painted with deep thought and emotion. He believed that depicting a restrained, trussed bull conveyed the idea of immense human potential being confined. His inspiration stemmed from Egyptian bas-reliefs he observed at the British Museum, as well as the violence he had witnessed during Partition.

Trussed Bull is an early work by Mehta, created at a time when he was deeply influenced by European modernism, particularly the styles of expressionism and cubism. The painting portrays a bull, restrained and bound, symbolizing helplessness, oppression, and struggle, recurring themes in Mehta's work.

He once explained, "I felt that if I showed a bull about to be slaughtered, a trussed bull, it would express the fact of man’s immense potential held captive." His use of bold color planes and diagonal compositions, influenced by Indian miniature traditions, gave his work a distinctive identity. Summing up his creative journey, he reflected, "An artist comes to terms with certain images. He arrives at certain conventions by a process of reduction."