Maqbool Fida Husain commonly known as
MF, was an eminent painter of Indian origin, although a Qatari national at the time of his death died from a heart attack he was , 95. He has been widely regarded as the "
Picasso of India" and has influenced a whole generation of artists in the country.
(17 September 1915 – 9 June 2011)
Husain was associated with Indian modernism in the 1940s. A dashing, highly eccentric figure who dressed in impeccably tailored suits, he went barefoot and brandished an extra-long paintbrush as a slim cane. He never maintained a studio but he spread his canvases out on the floor of whatever hotel room he happened to be staying in and paying for damages when he checked out. He created four museums to showcase his work and had a collection of classic sports cars. Enormously prolific, a gifted self-promoter and hard bargainer, he claimed to have produced some 60,000 paintings, when questioned about such prolificity by
Michael Peschardt of the BBC in one of the last interviews he gave on May 27th, 2011, he replied that "All this talk about inspiration and moment is nonsense. Excuse us". He amassed a fortune but maintained a bank balance of zero. He applied the formal lessons of European modernists like
Cézanne and
Matisse to scenes from national epics like the
Mahabharata,
Ramayana and to the Hindu pantheon.
[4]
His narrative paintings, executed in a modified
Cubist style, can be caustic and funny as well as serious and sombre. His themes—usually treated in series—include topics as diverse as
Mohandas K. Gandhi,
Mother Teresa, the
Ramayana, the
Mahabharata, the
British raj, and motifs of Indian urban and rural life. One of the most celebrated and internationally recognized Indian artists of the 20th century, he also received recognition as a printmaker, photographer, and filmmaker.
Career
Born on September 17, 1915 in
Pandharpur in
Maharashtra, Husain was mainly a self-taught artist. He made ends meet in his initial days by painting cinema hoardings in
Mumbai, paid barely four or six annas per square foot. As soon as he earned a little bit he used to take off for Surat, Baroda and Ahmedabad to paint landscapes. Husain tried other jobs and one of the best paying was a toy factory where he designed and built toys.
[5]
1940–1965
Husain first became well-known as an artist in the late 1940s. In 1947, he joined the
Progressive Artists' Group, founded by
Francis Newton Souza. This was a clique of young artists who wished to break with the nationalist traditions established by the
Bengal school of art and to encourage an Indian avant-garde, engaged at an international level. In 1952, his first solo exhibition was held at
Zürich and over the next few years, his work was widely seen in Europe and the US In 1955, he was awarded the prestigious
Padma Shri award by the
Government of India.
[6]
1965–1990
In 1967, he made his first film,
Through the Eyes of a Painter. It was shown at the
Berlin Film Festival and won a
Golden Bear(Short Film).
[7][8][9]
M. F. Husain was a special invitee along with Pablo Picasso at the
Sao Paulo Biennial in 1971.
[8] He was awarded the
Padma Bhushan in 1973 and was nominated to the
Rajya Sabha in 1986.
[8] He was awarded the
Padma Vibhushan in 1991.
1990–2011
Husain went on to become the highest paid painter in India. His single canvases have fetched up to $2 million at a recent
Christie's auction.
[10]
He has also worked (produced & directed) s few movies, including
Gaja Gamini (with his
muse Madhuri Dixit who was the subject of a series of his paintings which he signed
Fida). The film was intended as a tribute to Ms. Dixit herself.
[11] In this film she can be seen portraying various forms and manifestations of womanhood including the muse of
Kalidasa, the
Mona Lisa, a rebel, and musical euphoria. He went on to make
Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (with
Tabu). His autobiography is being made into a movie tentatively titled
The Making of the Painter, starring
Shreyas Talpade as the young Husain.
[12]
The
Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) (USA, Massachusetts) showed a solo exhibition from 4 November 2006 to 3 June 2007. It exhibited Husain’s paintings inspired by the Hindu epic,
Mahabharata.
At the age of 92 Husain was to be given the prestigious
Raja Ravi Varma award by the government of
Kerala.
[13] The announcement led to controversy in Kerala and some cultural organisations campaigned against the granting of the award and petitioned the Kerala courts.
Sabarimala spokesperson,
Rahul Easwar, went to Kerala High Court and it granted an interim order to stay the granting of the award until the petition had been disposed of.
[14]
In early 2008, Husain's
Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12, a large
diptych, from the Hindu epic, fetched $1.6 million, setting a world record at Christie's
South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale.
[15]
His name was included in the list of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World,
[16] issued by the
Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in
Amman, Jordan.
For the last years of his life he lived in Dubai and London, staying away from India, but expressing a strong desire to return, despite fears of arrest.
[17]
Controversies
Portrayal of Hindu deities in nude
Indifferent to both
religion and
politics, Husain, a
Muslim by upbringing, treated the gods and goddesses of
Hinduism as visual
stimuli rather than
deities, depicting them unclothed and often in sexually suggestive poses.
[18] This earned him the bitter hatred of
Hindu nationalist groups, which beginning in the 1990s mounted a campaign of
intimidation and
violence against him.
[4][19] The paintings in question were created in 1970, but did not become an issue until 1996, when they were printed in
Vichar Mimansa, a Hindi monthly magazine, which published them in an article headlined "M.F. Husain: A Painter or Butcher".
[4] In response, eight criminal complaints were filed against him. In 2004,
Delhi High Court dismissed these complaints of
"promoting enmity between different groups ... by painting Hindu goddesses – Durga and Sarswati, that was later compromised by Hindus."[20][21][22]
In 1998 Husain's house was attacked by Hindu groups like
Bajrang Dal and art works were vandalised. The leadership of
Shiv Sena endorsed the attack. Twenty-six Bajrang Dal activists were arrested by the police.
[23] Protests against Husain also led to the closure of an exhibition in London, England.
In February 2006, Husain was charged with "hurting sentiments of people" because of his nude portraits of
Hindu gods and goddesses.
[24]
Mother India
In the 6 February 2006 issue,
India Today, a national English weekly published an advertisement titled "Art For Mission Kashmir". This advertisement contains a painting of
Bharatmata (Mother India) as a nude woman posed across a map of India with the names of Indian States on various parts of her body. The exhibition was organised by
Nafisa Ali of Action India (NGO) and Apparao Art Gallery.
[25][citation needed][26] Organizations like
Hindu Jagruti Samiti and
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) have protested persistently against Husain displaying the painting on the websites and even in exhibitions in north Europe. As a result, Husain apologized and promised to withdraw the painting from an auction, which was later sold for Rs 80 lakh in the auction.
[27][28] The painting later appeared on Husain's official website.
Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities
Husain's film
Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities[29] was pulled out of cinemas a day after some Muslim organisations raised objections to one of the songs in it.
[30] The All-India Ulema Council complained that the
Qawwali song
Noor-un-Ala-Noor was blasphemous. It argued that the song contained words directly taken from the Quran. The council was supported by Muslim organisations like the Milli Council, All-India Muslim Council, Raza Academy, Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind and Jamat-e-Islami. Husain's son stated that the words were a phrase referring to divine beauty that were being sung by the central character played by
Tabu. He said there was no intention to offend. Following the wave of protests the enraged artist withdrew his movie from cinemas. The film was well received by the critics, however, and went on to win various awards.
Leaving India, Qatar nationality and projects
A series of cases were brought against Husain and a court case related to the alleged obscene depiction of Hindu goddesses in his paintings resulted in issuing a non-bailable warrant against him after he failed to respond to summons. There were also reportedly death threats.
[31][32][33]
Husain, who left India stating that "matters are so legally complicated that I have been advised not to return home",
[34] had living abroad self-exile since 2006.
[35] He had expressed a strong desire to come back, despite fears that he may be arrested in connection with the cases against him.
[35] Later a recent Supreme Court order suspended an arrest warrant for Husain.
[36] In absence of dual citizenship, Union Home Secretary, GK Pillai, said that MF Husain was free to come back and would be provided security if he requested it.
[37]
Qatari nationality was conferred upon him at the instance of the modernizing Qatar’s ruling family and had been living in
Doha, spending his summers in
London. He traveled freely except to
India. His work in
Qatar was mostly towards two large projects, the history of
Indian civilization and the history of
Arab civilization, the latter was commissioned by Qatar’s first lady –
Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al Missned, wife of the Qatar’s ruler,
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The works are to be housed in a museum in
Doha.
[38]
Supporters and critics
The artistic community was supportive
[39] as well as critical. Krishan Khanna, one of Husain's contemporaries, stated that "It's not just Husain's but the entire artist community's lives which are at stake. Anybody and everybody can file a case against us now. Anyone can infringe upon our lives". Others who expressed anger at the "vicious campaigns" against Husain, include filmmaker
Saeed Mirza, social activist Nafisa Ali, theatre personality M. K. Raina and a host of other artistes, art critics and art gallery owners. Salil Tripathi, writing in the
International Herald Tribune, notes that Hindu goddesses have regularly been portrayed in the nude by Hindu artists. Tripathi asserted that,
[40]
Other Indian artists expressed criticism.
Satish Gujral went on record to ask Husain whether he will be bold enough to treat icons of Islam in the same manner.
[41] However Gujral stated that he deeply regretted the way Husain was treated and forced into an exile because of what he terms "the mob culture".
[42][dead link] According to a senior Hindu artist and former President,
Bombay Art Society, Gopal Adivrekar,
[43]
Writing in
The Pioneer, Chandan Mitra wrote,
[43][44]
In response to the controversy, Husain's admirers petitioned the government to grant Husain the
Bharat Ratna, India's highest award. According to
Shashi Tharoor, who supported the petition, it praised Husain because his "life and work are beginning to serve as an allegory for the changing modalities of the secular in modern India – and the challenges that the narrative of the nation holds for many of us. This is the opportune and crucial time to honour him for his dedication and courage to the cultural renaissance of his beloved country."
[45]
On his part Husain stated that Hindu leaders have not spoken a word against his paintings, and they should have been the first ones to have raised their voice.
[46]
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said
[47][48][49]
Death
M F Husain died, aged 95, on 9 June 2011, following a heart attack. He had been unwell for several months.
[50] He died at the
Royal Brompton Hospital in London, and was buried in the city on 10 June 2011.
[51] India's Prime Minister,
Manmohan Singh said his death was a "national loss", and India's President
Pratibha Patil said his death "left a void in the world of art."
[52] The actress
Shabana Azmi called him an "
iconoclastic painter, a wonderful human being and a very good friend".
[53][54][55] Talking about his self-imposed exile and death outside of India painter
Akbar Padamsee said that it was a "pity that a painter as important as Husain had to die outside his own country because of a crowd of miscreants".
[56]
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