If alive Maqbool Fida Husain, the gifted artist would have been 100 this September. He was an icon and iconoclast. A legend and a maverick. He was the most well known Indian painter abroad. However, his paintings depicting Hindu Gods and goddesses in nude enraged a large section of people. Hundreds of law suits were filed against him. His exhibitions were vandalised. Hussain left the country and lived in self-imposed exile in Doha and London from 2006 until his death on 9 June 2011.
Husain was associated with Indian modernism in the 1940s. His early association with the Progressive Artist's Group, or "PAG of Bombay" used modern technique, and was inspired by the "new" India after The Partition of 1947. His narrative paintings, executed in a modified Cubist style, can be caustic and funny as well as serious and sombre. His themes—sometimes 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. Early in his painting career, and until his death, he enjoyed depicting the lively and free spirit of horses in many of his works. Often referred to as the "Picasso of India," M.F. Husain is the most celebrated and internationally recognized Indian artist of the 20th century. Husain is primarily known for his paintings, but is also known for his drawings and his work as a printmaker, photographer, and filmmaker. Some of his later works stirred controversy, as they depicted traditional Deities of India in non traditional ways.
He also directed a few movies. In 1967, he received the National Film Award for Best Experimental Film for Through The Eyes of a Painter In 2004, he directed Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities, which was screened in the Marché du Film section of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
Syed Mohd Irfan, who was closely associated with him in creating an audio book on Hussain's life and times has posted the audio book on net.
Get it here:
http://sunomfhusainkikahani.blogspot.in
Listen to it to know the mind of a genius and the way he grew.
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