Maqbool Fida Husain, a legendary artist who brought
immense fame to his homeland, India on an international platform was born in
1915 in Pandharpur, Maharashtra. During his teenage, while learning
Calligraphy, he developed interest in art and decided to pursue it through
enrolling in J J School of Art, Mumbai. To support himself financially he
started painting Bollywood hoardings and made toys for a toy company. To break
the longstanding ideas of Bengal School of Art, Hussain along with artists S HRaza and Souza established Progressive Artists’ Group, during the partition of
India and Pakistan in 1947, which encouraged artists to adopt modernism and
embrace new ideas. This movement changed the face of art in India
significantly. He exhibited his works across the world and attained renown very
early in his career. Hussain uses cubist style to paint, with most of his
subjects chosen from Indian epics. However, he was often embroiled in controversies
for portraying disrobed ‘Bharat Mata’ and Hindu Gods & Goddesses in his canvases.
He was eventually forced to leave the country and seek asylum in Qatar and
London. His paintings have been sold for big bucks,unlike any other artist.
Apart from painting, he had directed many films, some of which won him awards.
He had been bestowed with Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Raja
Ravi Verma Award for his massive contribution towards Indian Art. He breathed
his last in 2011 in London, but the legacy he left behind has indeed changed
the face of India in the field of art.
