Husain literally rose from the streets of India and became its champion. He captured the ordinary and banal subject of the Indian everyday onto canvas. Right from the beginning with his early work as a Progressive he was drawn to the colour and beauty of rural India, with its rich traditions and folklore. This made him the most popular artist of the day.

To understand Husain you only need to look at his film, Through the eyes of a Painter, produced by the Films division of India in 1967. In this silent film Husain focuses the camera on the daily routine of a village in Rajasthan, selecting scenes which catch his eye; the bullock cart, the handprints on the wall, the turbaned men, the women in traditional dupattas. The very same shots that caught his attention appear in this untitled work of 1969, in a totem or vertical composition. At the bottom, a village woman with duppata, in the centre the figure of temple dancer, and a hand in mudra, and above them the head of a Bull.

This work was acquired directly from the artist by the Swiss artist Ferdy Denzler (1909 – 1991). He was a swimmer and water polo player, who participated in the 1936 Berlin Games. He later became a sculptor.