sem-1Art and Artist.

Jamini Roy

ARTIST OF

MODERN INDIA
Artist
1.

Shri Jamini Roy was an Indian painter. He was honored with the State award of Padma Bhushan
in 1955. He was one of the most famous pupils of Abanindranath Tagore, whose contribution to the
emergence of modern art in India remains unquestionable. Wikipedia

B IO G R A P H Y

O F

T H E

RT I S T

Jamini Roy (1887-1972) is among the most significant and influential Indian artists of
the 20th century. He enjoyed a great deal of respect and fame during his lifetime. His
work is still held in high esteem in India and is achieving growing international
renown. Roy received formal training at the Calcutta College of Art (also known as
Government School of Art) where he learned academic methods then in vogue in the
West, and achieved his early fame as a portrait painter in the European tradition.
Eventually, however, the artist rejected these conventions to cultivate a personal
painting style inspired largely by traditional Indian folk and village arts, particularly
those of his native Bengal. Jamini Roy utilized his considerable skill and intelligence
to create a body of work that resonates with the history of modern India. Thus, an
exhibition and catalogue of works by Jamini Roy is a particularly appropriate way to
acknowledge the 50th anniversary of Indian independence as a colony of the British
Empire.
The majority of Roy's works in the Harn Museum's collection were donated to the
University of Florida by Thomas and Laurina Needham of Jacksonville who first met
the artist in 1953 while Mr. Needham served as head of the office of the United
States Information Agency in Calcutta. Through many visits with Roy, a strong
friendship ensued, and during their stay of several years in Calcutta they were able
to assemble a fine representation of Roy's work along with many examples of
Bengali folk art. The relationship between the Needhams and the University of
Florida was nurtured by the first Director of the University Gallery, the late Indian art
scholar Roy C. Craven, Jr. They collaborated on an exhibition of Roy's work from the
Needham collection that was held at the University Gallery in 1971. It is undoubtedly
due to Roy Craven's knowledge of Indian art and the friendship and respect
established between the Needhams and the Cravens that led to the donation of
much of the Needham collection to the University during the course of many years.
The museum also extends its gratitude to guest scholar Dr. Marcella Sirhandi,

Associate Professor of Art History, Oklahoma State University, who wrote an

insightful essay about the artist that may be found in the exhibition catalogue.
Larry David Perkins
Curator of Collections
Art.

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1.

M. F. Husain

Painter
2.

Maqbool Fida Husain commonly known as MF Husain, was an Indian painter and Film
Director. Husain was associated with Indian modernism in the 1940s. Wikipedia

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Born: September 17, 1915, Pandharpur

Died: June 9, 2011, London, United Kingdom
Spouse: Fazila Bibi (m. ?2011)
Artwork: Between the Spider & the Lamp,Maiden's Flight, Mother India, Bharat Mata, Gaja
Gamini, Autobiography
8.
Awards: National Film Award for Best Experimental Film

9. Maqbool Fida Husain (17 September 1915 9 June 2011[2]) commonly known as MF
Husain, was an Indian painter and Film Director.
10. Husain was associated with Indian modernism in the 1940s. His narrative paintings,
executed in a modified Cubist style, can be caustic and funny as well as serious and
sombre. His themessometimes treated in seriesinclude topics as diverse
as Mohandas K. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the Ramayana, theMahabharata, 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.

Biography
M. F. Husain was born into a Muslim family on 17 September 1915 inPandharpur, Maharashtra,
to a Sulaymani Bohra family who trace their roots back to Gujarat within the last 200 years, and
then originally to Yemen.[3]Primarily self-taught, Husain painted cinema posters in Mumbai early
in his career. To earn extra money, he worked for a toy company designing and building toys. He
often travelled to Gujarat to paint landscapes when he could afford to. [4]

19401965
Husain first became well known as an artist in the late 1940s. He was one of the original
members of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group founded by Francis Newton Souza.[5] 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. The artists cite "The Partition" of India and Pakistan 14 August 1947, with its resulting
religious rioting and heavy loss of life as their reason for forming The Progressive Artist's Group
in Bombay in December, 1947.[6] Husain's first solo exhibit was in 1952 in Zurich.[7] His first
U.S.A. exhibit was at India House in New York in 1964.[8] In 1966, he was awarded the
prestigious Padma Shri award by the Government of India.

19661990
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 award.[9][10]
M. F. Husain was a special invitee along with Pablo Picasso at the Sao Paulo Biennial (Brazil) in
1971.[7][11][better source needed] He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1973 and was nominated to
the Rajya Sabha in 1986.[11][better source needed] He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1991.

19902005
M. F. 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.
[12]

This hurt the religious sentiments of Hindu nationalist groups, which beginning in the 1990s

mounted a campaign of protest against him.[2] 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".[2] 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." [13][14]
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.[15] Protests against Husain also led to the closure of an exhibition in
London, England.
He has also produced & directed several movies, including Gaja Gamini (2000) (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.[16][better source needed] 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 also appeared in a scene in film Mohabbat,
which had Madhuri Dixit in lead role. In the film, the paintings that were supposedly done by
Madhuri were actually Husain's.[17] He went on to make Meenaxi: A Tale of Three
Cities (with Tabu). The film was pulled out of cinemas a day after some Muslim organisations
raised objections to one of the songs in it.[18] The All-India Ulema Council complained that
theQawwali 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.

2006-2011
In February 2006, Husain was charged with "hurting sentiments of people" because of his nude
portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses.[19] In addition, 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 Aliof Action India (NGO) and Apparao Art Gallery.[20][21] 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.[22][23] The painting later appeared on Husain's official website.
Husain became the best-paid painter in India, with his highest-selling piece fetching $1.6 million
at a 2008 Christie'sauction.[21][24]

Hundreds of lawsuits in connection with Husain's allegedly obscene art were outstanding as of
2007.[25] A warrant was issued for his arrest after he did not appear at a hearing, though this
warrant was later suspended.[25][26][27] Husain also received death threats.[26]
Husain lived in self-imposed exile from 2006 until his death. [26] He generally lived in Doha and
summered in London.[1]
In 2010, he was conferred Qatari nationality, and he surrendered his Indian passport.[28][29] In
Qatar, he principally worked on two large projects, one on the history of Arab civilization,
commissioned by Qatar's first lady, Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, and one on the history of
Indian civilization.[1] The works are to be housed in a museum in Doha.[1]
For the last years of his life Husain lived in Doha and London, staying away from India, but
expressing a strong desire to return, despite fears of being killed. [30]
At the age of 92 Husain was to be given the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma award by the
government of Kerala.[31] 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. [32]
In 2010, the Jordanian Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre named Husain as one of the 500
most influential Muslims.[33]
M. F. Husain died, aged 95, on 9 June 2011, following a heart attack. He had been unwell for
several months.[34] He died at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, and was buried
in Brookwood Cemetery on 10 June 2011.[35] India's former Prime Minister, Manmohan
Singh said his death was a "national loss", and India's former President Pratibha Patil said his
death "left a void in the world of art."[36] The actress Shabana Azmi called him an "iconoclastic
painter, a wonderful human being and a very good friend".[37][38] 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". [39]

Art.