Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

298 ART AND CRAFTS


that time Ramendranath was also painting the well-watered, fertile fields of the Bengal
village with the spontaneous use of oil colors. Zainul’s teacher in the 4th and 6th
54
years, Basanta Kumar Ganguly, was also a man returned from Paris with a very
modern outlook whose technique of water color attracted Zainul most of all. 55
Therefore, it does not need to be mentioned that the tendency in Zainul to move out
of the circle of academic values that is evidenced from his student days had behind it
the special inspiration of these teachers. However, during the ’30s and the ’40s the
enthusiasm about the artists considered as the pioneering exponents of the academic
style began to decrease considerably among art lovers and connoisseurs. It was due
56
to this reason that although the water color Bamboo Bridge, which had earned the
acclaim ‘Highly Commended’ in the annual exhibition during his second year as a
57
student was executed in the pure transparent method of the British yet, in the six
pictures of the series of water colors entitled On and Over the Brahmaputra painted
58
as a student of the final year and awarded the gold medal at the all-India level (in
1938), an Impressionist manner appeared. Another notable fact is that both the media
59
of water color and brush-and-ink had started to become the main media of Zainul’s
painting right from his student life. His interest in painting in oil colors was decreasing
(be it because it was more expensive or due to it being unsuitable to his temperament
because of the slowness of its method) (figs. 8.2, 8.3). This tendency to make brush-
and-ink and water colors the main media instead of oil colors was seen previously only
among the artists of the Bengal School.
The changes that distinguished the works of some of the Bengal School artists due to
fig. 8.2 Banani Dumka, the influence of the Chinese-Japanese style (the use of the brush following the
watercolor, 1934 characteristics of the object sometimes softly, sometimes in a rough and dry manner,
using the difference in the thickness of colors to
simultaneously hint at light-and-shade and three-
dimensionality, making the objective entity imperishable by
preserving the completeness of form through binding lines,
utilizing the natural surface of the paper in creating the
illusion of endless horizons, etc.) seems to have made Zainul
quite enthusiastic, as well. On the other hand, the
Impressionists’ efforts to be free of the limitations of the
naturalistic method of western painting and studio centered
practice was of special interest to Zainul. However, he could
not accept their elimination of the outline of the object in the
one-sidedness of their apparently scientific analysis related to
light-shade-color; or he did not arrive at the very question of
acceptance as he never considered the picture to be solely the
expression of experiences dependent on the sense of vision.
Thus, as he had no particular curiosity about the relation of
light and color or between various colors, likewise the

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 299


colorful beauty of nature never became the
main content of his pictures. Rather, in
most of his pictures, when determining the
form of the image and to amalgamate and
concretize its inner framework and life
force he tried to make the contour
increasingly clear by using swiftly
executed, spontaneous and forceful lines.
Again, he tried to control the contrast that
arises between form and space due to
strong boundary lines by trying to be duly
attentive to formal order and balance to
keep the pictorial unity unbroken. It is thus
that even during his apprenticeship he did
not accept any particular style to be the
highest of its kind but rather collected his
sustenance from various methods or styles and began to advance towards the goal of fig. 8.3 Zoo Study,
making an original pictorial language suitable for his own expression. He did not, drawing, 1935
however, neglect the education he received at the Art School, and his process of
focusing on his individual pictorial language originated alongside assimilating his art
school education properly. Thus, we can easily feel the presence of the firm foundation
of the western naturalistic method in the works produced by him in his maturity.
In his student life he showed his unflagging perseverance and single-minded devotion,
extraordinary excellence in the academic style (fig. 8.5).and his capacity to integrate
the style and take it to a new dimension in terms of the sensibility and experience of
a new age which reflected his extraordinary talents in many different ways. Within this
context Principal Mukul Dey took the unprecedented initiative of giving him
employment as a teacher of the Art School when he was still a student of the fifth year.
Actually, due to Mukul Dey’s initiative and special arrangements made by the
Education Department he got employment in the Calcutta Art School as a temporary
teacher in the year 1937. Later in 1938, in the final examinations he stood First in the
60
First Class and thus ended his student life upon which he was awarded a scholarship
by the British Government (for three years). But due to the advent of the Second
World War in 1939, that scholarship was suspended. In the same year (1939), after the
death of Abdul Moin, a teacher of the Art School, Zainul’s appointment became
permanent against his vacant post. Up to the partition of the country in 1947 he was
employed in that position. 61
As a teacher also, along with teaching the students the basic principles of the academic
method, he tried to inspire them to paint in the light of the knowledge and
understanding derived from their own experience. He tried to make the students
understand that not only the presentation of visual forms, but rather connecting them

300 ART AND CRAFTS


to the feeling or mood was the genuine artist’s ultimate goal. Just as he tried to make
the students understand this, he also tried to give the students a clear idea about the
62
indispensability of exaggeration and distortion to represent the inner qualities and
essence of the visual form or figure. 63
At the initial stages of his life as a teacher he became engaged in book cover-designing
and regularly illustrating various periodicals and newspapers besides painting. In that
64
age illustrations in periodicals and newspapers were generally printed by blocks. For
low cost printing black color and lines were used in various ways and different
intensity and by leaving off and covering the white surface of the paper, bringing in
different tones and light-and-shade to create the image or scene according to the
expression demanded by the subject. It is not unreasonable to suppose that the
experience that Zainul gained from these involvements from the beginning of the
forties played a special role in also gradually making his original artworks devoid of
redundancy, thoroughly accomplished, dominated by lines and free of complexity. The
best example of this is his Famine series executed in 1943 (figs. 1.16, 8.6). It should,
however, be noted that unlike his work done previously, these were not completed
while on the spot. These were based on direct study but executed at a planned second
session in the studio. As a result, in spite of the furiously swift movement in
65
brushwork, there are signs of considerable refinement and restraint in the emotional
and touching lines of these pictures. Moreover, the creation of a complementary
relation between form and space, the application of the pictorial element parallel to the
subject, etc. are the characteristics why these pictures have the quality of directness in
their appeal as well as being complete and meaningful art works. Thus, both from the
aspects of subject and form, these drawings are able to overwhelm people from all
classes. (In nineteen forty-three at the initiative of the Communist Party they were first
exhibited in a room in the second storey of a building in College Street Market of
Kolkata and by being printed in the paper Janajuddha and they roused a very extensive
response.) Even though many other renowned artists of India painted pictures on this
66
subject in those times, that no special dimension was added in their works as is seen in
fig. 8.4 Harvest, oil on Zainul’s work can be evidenced in the writings of the renowned critics, litterateurs and
canvas, 1934 politicians of that age. Critic O. C. Gangooly wrote even in 1944, ‘. . . Through this
extraordinary work he opened a new
chapter in the art of modern painting,’
[Trans.] and Sarojini Naidu remarked,
‘The appeal of these pictures is greater
. . . than even the most touching and
emotional description.’ [Trans.]
67
Besides Zainul, artists like Chittaprasad,
Debabrata Mukhopadhaya, Somnath
Hore had at that time dedicated
themselves to painting pictures from the

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 301


same sense of social responsibility. It were the political and social
movements of the forties that inspired this sense of responsibility in
them. Even today some art theorists believe that the flow that grew out
of the social movements to be the first modern trend of the forties and
they consider Zainul to have played the most importamt role in forming
that flow. Again, according to the opinion of some, the Famine series
68
by Zainul is incomparable even today in the Indian context. Owing to
69
the Famine series the position of the young Zainul at thirty years of age
reached a very high point as a contemporary Bengali artist. (In the
album entitled Bengal Painter’s Testimony published under the initiative
of the Students’ Federation to create a relief fund featuring the works of
all the artists of Bengal, only three artists were allotted more than one
page and Zainul was the most important one among the three.) 70
Inspired by this success or perhaps drawn back by this fame, some
idealistic and stylistic aspects of the Famine series turned into
permanent characteristics in Zainul’s works. For example, in the
Famine series or other figure dominated works of a later period the manner in which fig. 8.5 Portrait of Artist
humans have been presented makes it quite easy to presume that like the communist Anwarul Haq, pen and
poet Nazrul, he also believed that ‘There is nothing greater than man, nor anything ink, 1942
more glorious.’ [Trans.] It is because of this belief that though the men and women in
his pictures were representatives of low income, needy, laboring society, they were not
seekers of mercy from any super-natural force and also were not people who had
surrendered in defeat. Everywhere they are in proximity with the higher sphere, as
even when they travel along the road to certain death from starvation, right up to the
last moment they are in the role of people who struggle for survival. It is to be noticed
that, in most cases he presented these working people over the major portion of the
canvas, elongating their forms. As a result, in some cases the figures have become
‘themselves the controllers of their own fate,’ [Trans.] and even that of eternity.
To express this all-conquering aspect in man, he has in many cases looked at the figure
from a nearly ground touching position, alongside elongation. Consequently, the
general figures in spite of becoming very long in proportion, do not lose their worldly
realism (pl. 8.2). In this aspect Zainul’s attitude seems to be very close to the artistic
ideal of the socialist world. (Zainul had begun to get close to the art, literature and
ideal of the socialist world right from the beginning of the forties.) The interrelation
71
between man and the landscape or nature in the figure dominated pictures of Zainul is
also very significant. We see the material world presented with the limitlessness of the
universe in the works of some of the romantic artists of the west and also in the works
of Chinese artists. The presence of man in these paintings seems to activate the
limitless quality of the material world. On the other hand, in Zainul’s pictures the
relation between the material world and man has exactly the opposite characteristic;
which means, the material world here plays an auxiliary role to express the vastness

302 ART AND CRAFTS


of man himself. Moreover, here nature is present also to explain the position,
environment and motive of the figures or to make the figures clearer and more
important; sometimes again to reduce the continuously increasing depth of the
background (fig. 8.1, pl. 8.4).
72
Another special aspect of the Famine series that has repeatedly pervaded Zainul’s style
of painting is the domination of lines. Of course, lines dominate the pictures painted
with limited colors, even when using the autonomous character of primary colors, the
forms have been separated and well defined from one another, and lines have been
used to finish the painting (pls. 8.2, 8.5). This process of painting can undoubtedly be
marked as a characteristic originating from the artistic ideal of the east. However,
there are also pictures by Zainul done in the late forties in which the qualities and
characteristics mentioned are nearly nowhere to be found (pl. 8.3, 8.4). The subject of
these pictures present the refined, luxurious life of the middle class instead of the life
of laboring people. Likewise, the material has changed from the plain and simple
brush-ink-watercolor to the aristocratic medium of oil colors. His marriage in 1946 is
one of the most important reasons that can be singled out behind this temporary
change. Probably because his wife Jahanara Begum came from a comparatively more
educated and wealthy family that Zainul left his ‘one room house of No. 19 Circus
Row which was the birth place of the Famine series,’ [trans.] to live in a more
73
improved environment and moved to a flat of Ahmad Court in Tarakdutta Road. 74
Besides, the communal riots of 1946, the probable independence of India, partition
and the plan to establish Pakistan, and other such issues also encouraged the feelings
of self-interest and group identity in people of all communities. Moreover, the Bengali
Muslim had never lived a very respectable, opulent life. They had suffered with their
whole existence the helplessness of being powerless and the ravages of poverty. 75
Therefore, quite naturally this consciousness also overcame Zainul, the proof of which
fig. 8.6 Famine Sketch-
13, brush and ink, 1943 is to be found in Zainul’s taking part in an exhibition organized solely with Muslim
artists held in late 1946 in Calcutta
Islamia College. Prior to the partition,
76
the plan of the state of Pakistan born
out of Jinnah’s two nations theory
strongly shook Zainul also who was a
son of the backward Muslim majority
region of East Bengal. Already a
university had been established in
Dhaka in the interest of the people of
this backward region, as a result of
which there had been created a
environment conducive for advanced
education and the growth of culture.
Therefore, Zainul being dedicated to

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 303


social responsibility took the decision to build an art school in Dhaka, disregarding
77
his unimaginable success and the opportunities that Kolkata held for him, he came to
Dhaka accompanied by his wife and arrived at his father-in-law’s residence in No. 12,
Abdul Hadi Lane. Thereupon, he joined Normal School situated in Armanitola as a
78
teacher and utilizing his own organizing capabilities and fame, with the cooperation
of prominent personalities was successful in swiftly carrying forward the work of
79
founding an art school. Although the art school started functioning in November of
1948 (in two rooms on the ground floor of the two-storied building of the Dhaka
National Medical School situated in Johnson Road), Zainul had to leave for Karachi
for one year as he was employed in the Publicity Branch of the Central Information
and Radio Department of Pakistan. It is to be noted that the number of Bengali Muslim
teachers who were employed previously in the Calcutta Art School had all come to
Dhaka and Zainul started the program of the Art School with them. During his absence
Anwarul Huq was the one among the teachers who performed the duties of temporary
Principal for the first one year. So, in spite of being the founder Principal Zainul joined
the Dhaka Art Institute on the 1st of February, 1949. 80
Right after his coming to East Pakistan the important pictures that Zainul painted were
one hundred posters on the subject ‘of Sultan Mohammad’s conquest of Delhi to the
establishment of Pakistan by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and the most praised and
discussed picture by Zainul in Pakistan was the water color On the Way to Quaide’s
Grave (1948). Even if there was no new dimension added in these pictures, these
informations are of great significance to us because Zainul had total faith in the state
of Pakistan which had been formed on the basis of religious ideals and spirit. But the
Art Institute that Zainul established with the direct assistance of the Pakistan
Government had not the slightest influence of religious consciousness or narrow
mindedness just as it was absent from Zainul’s own style of painting. Rather it may be
noticed that Zainul tried to retain the characteristics and qualities for which he became
renowned throughout India before the partition even after coming to East Pakistan and
use it for the benefit of the artists. 81
Actually, rather than concentrating anew on thoughts and ideas about the practice of
art or on creating a syllabus suitable for the new age by liberating it from the colonial
legacy for the newly formed ‘Art Institute’ in Dhaka and so on, the most important
task of that age was transforming the huge group of people who were uninterested in
art into people with a taste for art. Besides this, a big challenge was to become
82
equally equipped as West Pakistan in terms of various opportunities and facilities. In
those times the condition and environment of contemporary fine arts in West Pakistan
was much more advanced in comparison to East Pakistan. Ages before the creation of
Pakistan (in 1875) the ‘Mayo’ Art School was established in Lahore in the mould of
the Calcutta Art School and in 1940 in Punjab University a department was established
to provide higher education in this subject. Besides, before the partition of India
83
painters with a modern outlook such as Bhabesh Sanyal and Amrita Shergil regularly

304 ART AND CRAFTS


practiced art which inspired contemporary consciousness among young artists, art
84
lovers and art theorists of that region to speed up the process of planned progress. Due
to Karachi being the capital, their process began to advance swiftly and since it was
the residence of the famous art theorists of the subcontinent like Shahed Suhrawardy,
that region began to grow into the centre of art practice in entire Pakistan. To the
renowned young artist Zainul who had come from Kolkata the ‘best education
institution for the arts’ in the Indian subcontinent this certainly did not seem to be an
acceptable reflection of the Pakistan of his hopes. Therefore, in this situation it was
quite natural that Zainul, who had taken upon his shoulders the basic responsibility of
the development of the arts in East Pakistan, remained more active trying to solve
various problems and extract more opportunities for himself, his colleagues and the
student artists. It was mainly due to this reason that though his process of painting
continued, until 1950 it did not express any noticeably new creative process. However,
under the Commonwealth Scholarship he received in 1951 he studied at the Slade
School of London and viewed museums and art exhibitions during the term of his
scholarship in various European countries, the experience of meeting various art
theorists etc. provided new inspiration for his artistic life. He became much more self-
confident specially due to the praise which included the remark ‘unprecedented’on the
integration of the styles of the east and west in Zainul’s work in the analytical articles
by renowned art critics of the west in the catalogue published on Zainul’s solo
exhibition held in Berkeley, England in the month of January 1952 (from 14 to 26
January). After returning to the country from Europe in 1952 he relied on that self-
85
confidence and turned towards the folk tradition of Bengal to enrich his own works in
a completely different form. However, the changed political and cultural perspective
86
of the then East Pakistan also played a distinct role behind his turning towards the
cultural heritage. It is due to the Language Movement which took place from 1948 to
1952 that the people of this region first started to consider their identity as Bengalis
more important than their religious identity. This new consciousness that arose in the
hearts of the general people easily pervaded the humanistic, patriotic and socially
conscious artist, Abedin. 87 Actually, we can see the clear expression of that
consciousness in the novel paintings close to the folk tradition of Bengal executed
from 1952 to 1954. These paintings simultaneously show the tendency of flat
application of some bright primary colors as well as the ornamental arrangement of
spontaneous lines similar to folk paintings. Moreover, when simplifying the figure an
effort to integrate the face and the rhythm of the elongated neck of the traditional
tepaputul (terracotta dolls of the ageless type) of Mymensingh is noticeable (pl. 8.5).
Thus, the works of Zainul of this stage appear to be formally quite different from his
other works. Yet, the subject selection and drawing technique also evidence the
individual characteristics of Zainul. In spite of being painted by using elements of folk
art, the female figure has not been presented as a symbol of fertility born of traditional
folk values, likewise, even though the postures and the sweetness of the female body
have been given importance, physical desire has not been encouraged. Rather, as in

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 305


other pictures by Zainul, here too the women are the representatives of the common
laboring people of rural Bengal; this is also expressed in the titles of the pictures
(Mother of Painya, Three Village Maidens at Rest, etc.). In their simple faces
instinctive modesty and the hint of the dreams of happiness of the housewife is
observed as is also seen unimpaired their hardworking, capable aspect. The mental
occupation with work is seen to have been expressed even in the position of repose
(pl.1.12). Besides, to determine the form, structure, proportions and undulations of
the female body, preserving the darkness created in opposition to bright light as
‘capricious thick lines,’ or the creation of realistic relations with the surroundings of
the figures, etc., are the aspects that have expressed Zainul’s skill in the western
academic method and ideal. Again, in spite of the fact that the flat, spontaneous lines
were applied merely to increase the design quality, the unyielding and stirring
feeling that they express undoubtedly reveals Zainul’s usual identity. It is important
to notice that, in some of his pictures the composition dividing geometrical structure
and the relation between warm and cool colors have been very consciously used, a
fact that also proves Zainul’s curiosity about the abstract trend in western art.
However, this curiosity never turned him into a blind imitator. Therefore, it is with
good reasons that the critic Richard Wilson writes in 1955, that in one sense it must
be said that these works by Zainul has marked the beginning of Indo-Pakistan’s
entrance into the modern age of painting. He further states that Zainul is the first
artist of India and Pakistan who has been able to integrate the techniques of the art
of abstract painting with the local heritage with immense success and has in no way
given importance to imitation. 88
His interest in folk art was not only limited to the enrichment of his own work; he also
tried to make the citizens enthusiastic about it as well as make a call for its
preservation at the state level. With this intention twice in the years 1954 and 1958 in
the Fine Art Institute he organized exhibitions of folk art and wrote an article
89
containing proposals for the state and the citizens with extensive explanations as to
why it was necessary that along with the establishment of a folk art museum various
measures needed to be adopted to preserve folk art. Later he published the article (in
1964) in a newspaper. Another particular motive behind these activities that drove
90
Zainul was to make contemporary artists of the country interested about gathering
their sustenance from their own heritage instead of following the west under the
pretext of modernism. Later he took important steps such as to found a full-fledged
91
department of ceramics in the Art Institute, to take the initiative to establish a
department of crafts and to build up a folk art collection inside the Institute, etc.
However, because he always placed greater importance on the collective interest
rather than self-enrichment, Zainul could not uninterruptedly continue the successful
advancement of his own practice of painting in the folk form. Most of the time he had
at his disposal after 1954 was expended on developing the standard of education of the
Art Institute and in establishing a standard library with the aim of developing a

306 ART AND CRAFTS


perspective consonant with the age among the teachers and students, constructing an
attractive building for the Art Institute, and to make the society and the state develop
an appreciation for art. In this context he has spoken like a true guardian, ‘I get more
pleasure than the practice of my own art on seeing art well-established . . . That is the
reason why it is desirable that the practice of art be made universal.’ [Trans.]
92
In fact, he extended the scope of the sense of social responsibility which established him
in the best chapter of his life by composing the Famine series in 1943 towards an even
more glorious aim to the last day of his life. It is the reflection of just this vast extension
of consciousness that we see in Nabanna painted in 1969 and Manpura-70 painted in
1970, the two paintings similar to murals of huge dimensions (the length of these two
are 65 feet and 30 feet respectively). Previously in the case of his painting entitled The
93
Struggle of 1958 we saw him give importance to the mood of the subject parallel to the
space of the painting along the length of the ground (the subject of the painting is in
movement and is horizontally dynamic) (pl. 8.6). However, many consider that the
subject, size and form of this painting was determined by the socio-political background
94
of the then Pakistan in the clutches of autocratic military rule. He painted Nabanna in
1969, when the long struggle of the Bengali people for the establishment of their own
rights due to being secular in character gained the participation of all, irrespective of
caste-creed-religion and had taken the form of a mass uprising. It is mainly in this
perspective that including the selection of the subject matter of Nabanna, he changed
the entire manner of the plan for the painting. Generally the majority of his other works
have been executed with the focus on some particular scene or event in the lives of the
laboring people of rural Bengal. However, Nabanna presents ‘a complete depiction of
the happiness-sorrow-dream-pain of the peasant’s life . . .’ ‘. . . How the glorious,
95
happy life of the past was gradually lost due to colonial exploitation and reached the
extreme limit of poverty, how the farmers of the village lost everything to become
paupers, this is that touching history’ [trans.] which he described in strokes of wax, ink
96
and water color on paper. It is especially to be noted that in terms of the subject
fig. 8.7 Manpura-70
Nabanna represents the Bengali’s secular tradition encompassing everyone, likewise the
materials and arrangement of this
painting is also close to the patachitra
scrolls of the aare-latai (horizontally
97
rolled) type, traditional to Bengal. He
transformed this painting composed in
the period of the great unity of the
whole Bengali nation into a document
of unity by making the viewers of all
professions and classes who came
during the exhibition of the painting
sign their names on the blank spaces of
the painting. Thus, through painting
Nabanna ‘he added a new chapter in the

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 307


history of the art of modern painting of both
the Bengals.’ [Trans.] It is to be mentioned
98
that even before Nabanna he covered the
background of the water color entitled Boat
(pl. 8.7) in 1958, with countless signatures
by viewers and thus he also introduced
interactive art to this sub-continent. 99
The painting entitled Manpura-70 is also
executed on horizontally long paper, but it
does not contain descriptions of more than
one event or scene as in Nabanna, likewise,
in spite of it being based on a sudden heart-
breaking natural disaster, it has not been
presented as separate scenes like the
Famine drawings. Here he has tried to
present a total realization in a panoramic
view and in life-size of the most terrible
natural deluge in human memory that happened in the extended coastal areas in a form fig. 8.8 Valiant Freedom
so very close to the viewer that the viewer can experience the horror of the situation by Fighters, drawing, 1971
walking along almost like being on the spot (for its immense length the picture has to
be viewed by walking along). This realization becomes more intense due to the painting
being presented on the inner circle of the wall of a circular gallery; as if the
indescribable horror of the situation closes in on both sides and threatens to engulf the
viewer! It is very surprising that the art work, the viewer and the relation of the ‘empty
space’ between the two, which is especially addressed in the installation 100 art of today
was introduced to the viewers of this country nearly half a century ago through Manpura-
70 painted by Zainul. As in the Famine series, here too due to solidarity with the subject
only black color has been used, yet here the strokes of the brush are not that precise and
sharp. Rather, they are somewhat soft and loose like swollen and bloated corpses (fig.
8.7). However, in contrast to this the strong lines drawn with wax below reveal
themselves on the paper in white, though these clearly express Zainul’s characteristic
identity, they do not disturb the mute silence of the pain-filled painting.
Before this, in 1970, after returning home from observing the war fields of Palestine
he also painted some pictures, and again he painted on the subject of the Liberation
War of 1971, 101 but the deep expression of empathy and emotions that is present in
Manpura-70 and also in the Famine series of 1943, is not to be noted in these pictures
(fig. 8.8). Yet he left genuine proof of his support for the struggle for independence
through refusing the award of ‘Hilal-I-Imtiaz’ that had been conferred on him by the
Pakistan Government. Actually, in post-liberation Bangladesh he had to be involved
102
in various kinds of social duties and responsibilities related to the state and also to
realize the dreams that he had cherished of forming some important institutions in
building the nation he had to expend much energy and time. (The important state

308 ART AND CRAFTS


responsibilities were the supervision of a hand written
copy of the constitution and its ornamentation, and also
executing a line drawing for each chapter at the request
of the Bangladesh Government in the year 1972, taking
responsibility as the President of Bangla Academy, in
1973 participating in India as a representative in an
exhibition of contemporary fine arts of Bangladesh etc.
Alongside all this, he also had to continue the difficult
work of founding the Folk Art Museum at Sonargaon
and the Zainul Sangrahashala in Mymensingh. 103 Even
in the midst of all these activities, from 1972 he made an
effort to paint in a new form. The practice of this form
of art based on nature did not continue for long, but we
can ascertain Zainul’s awareness of contemporary world
art from this endeavor. In these paintings based on
nature there is no effort to present the material reality of
fig. 8.9 Two Faces, any particular event or scene; rather as long distance scenes the images are not easily
Brush drawing, 7 May, recognizable and have created a unified rhythmic atmosphere almost like Abstract
1976 Expressionist painting. In spite of the fact that they were painted in oil colors, the
movement of the brush is very spontaneous and the lines undulating and playful,
similar to the folk paintings of Bengal (pl. 8.8). Though there was a qualitative
development in this near abstract form, as they were not akin to his nature, in the end
he returned to strong figure dominated paintings full of life force constructed of bold
lines and at this stage he also applied oil paints with swiftness and spontaneity parallel
to the lines and imparted individuality to the media (pl. 8.1). Previously we have not
observed such facility in painting with oil colors over a large surface. At this stage in
some of the works the spontaneous application of colors and lines have been more
conducive in expressing the mental state of the artist. Particularly in the colors and
lines of some paintings executed by him after he was diagnosed with lung cancer his
104
mental agitation and uncertainty found expression. Yet no frustration about life could
gain permanent hold over his consciousness. Thus, just before his death 105 he has
presented the human face over the entire pictorial surface in an even more direct,
vibrant and forceful way (fig. 8.9). 106
‘The greatness of the phenomenon of Zainul is that he had created the style suitable for
his subject according to his own personality.’ 107 [Trans.] ‘He created his own pictorial
language without using the old one. It was in this language of painting that he connected
himself to the context of his time, society, country and generation. He touched the
heartstrings of his times through this language of painting. Playing on, the heartstrings
of the times he reached the innermost regions of the souls of people.’ [Trans.]
108
Tranalated by Kamaluddin Md. Kaiser, Writer, Dhaka

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 309



b. Quamrul Hassan
Syed Azizul Huq


Quamrul Hassan (1921-1988) is a brilliant personality in the field of art and culture of
Bangladesh. In the arena of art, his name comes right after Zainul Abedin (1914-1976).
His lifelong devotion to Bengali identity, patriotism and the courage to speak out the
truth has glorified his existence. His world of art is close to the root of Bangladesh,
seeped in tradition, yet modern in nature. He has relentlessly rebelled against injustice
and narrow-mindedness – and struggled to keep our cultural field alive with
progressive ideas. He was physically strong and responsible in nature; during his
adolescence and youth he tirelessly dedicated himself towards development of children
and teenagers and took part in the Brotochari movement; besides being involved in
physical exercise. Since his early youth until his death he occupied himself with art and
development of the culture of Bangladesh. He was able to develop individuality in his
art and his life’s ideal of altruism was exemplary which lent him distinction. He
actively participated in all the progressive movements of the country including the
Language Movement in 1952, the mass uprisal in 1969, and the Liberation War in
1971. As a result, his political awareness became an integral part of his cultural ideas.
His devotion for art became synonymous with love for humanity.
Quamrul Hassan, an artist of versatile creativity, developed his art through constant
experimentation. His penchant for experimentation helped him appreciate the
multiplicity of diverse media. As he worked in multiple media, it was also easy for him
to master the diverse language of art. The ideal of his art is centered in his love for
tradition. He achieved enviable success by synthesizing modernity with folk tradition. A
unique combination of occidental and oriental trends has lent significance to his art. Until
his death he was deeply engrossed in the search for beauty at the root of human existence.
As a result, he has tirelessly portrayed the beauty and postures of Bengali women. fig. 8.10 Quamrul Hassan
Life history: Kolkata period
Quamrul Hassan was born in a religious and conservative family in
Kolkata, in December 2 of 1921. His grandfather and father were Urdu-
speaking Bengalis. His rebellious nature resisted his father’s love for
Urdu. He won in an argument with his father, centering on the issue of
enrolling his younger sister in an Urdu school. His second rebellion
was also against his father’s backward mentality. His religious father
did not approve of his practice of art and art education at all. After he
completed class six in the Model M E School located in the European
Asylum Lane of Kolkata, his father enrolled him in Calcutta Madrasa
(1936). But his devotion for art was so strong that he was determined
to get enrolled in Calcutta Art School. This is why the two-year long

310 ART AND CRAFTS


education in the Calcutta Madrasa did not appeal to him.
His madrasa period is marked only by inattentiveness.
After that his father gave in to his love for art; however he
agreed to Quamrul’s decision under one condition –
Quamrul would have to pay for his own art education.
Under these circumstances, Quamrul enrolled in Calcutta
Government Art School in July, 1938.
From his early youth, Quamrul did not limit himself to
academic knowledge. During his education in M E School
he was a member of Boys’ Scout, he seriously continued
physical exercise (since 1935), got involved in the
Brotochari movement in 1939 and joined the ARP (1940)
during the World War. He developed connections with the
Forward Block, Gononatya Andolon (Peoples’ Theater)
and even with several leaders of the Communist Party, got
involved with the task of mental development of children
and teenagers and contributed to decoration of
publications. Thus the twenty-six years he spent in
Kolkata - before coming to Dhaka in the first half of 1948
– was full of multifarious activities.
As a result of his involvement in multiple social and
cultural activities, he finished his six-year course in the
fig. 8.11 Aksharbriksha, Art School in nine years. Success was inevitable in all of these activities as an outcome
1969 of his complete sincerity. As a result of his ten-year-long regular physical training he
secured first position in the B Group of the Inter College Bodybuilding competition in
1945. His skill enabled him to quickly become the ‘Nayak’ (commander) of the
Brotochari movement and a favourite of Gurusaday Dutt, the founder of the
movement; he also joined the movement’s traveling team to South India as the
youngest member (1940). His involvement in the Brotochari movement exposed him
to the unimaginable strength inherent in Bengali culture. This experience impelled him
to take the responsibility of nurturing Bengali culture throughout his life. Not only
that, he also observed the intrinsic possibilities in the artistic method of the Patuas and
decided to incorporate it in his own art.The Brotochari ideal of nationalism also
inspired him tremendously.
He also displayed his works on the famine of 1943 in an art exhibition arranged by the
Communist Party. At that time he was invited to the meetings and cultural programmes
of the Pragati Lekhak Shilpi Sangha (Pragati Writers’ and Artists’ Association) and
Gononatya Sangha (Public Theatre Association) – and drew many posters centering
around the themes of problems associated with public life.
As early as the 40s he joined ‘Monimela’, an organization for children and adolescents.
When it was impossible to continue work with ‘Monimela’ due to the communal riot

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 311


in 1946, he established ‘Mukulfouz’ as a branch of the previously existing ‘Mukul
Mela’ and became its highest leader. His instructions as a leader were published as
letters in a page titled ‘Mukuler Mahfil’ in the daily ‘Dainik Azad’. In the same year he
exhibited paintings done in the method of pata paintings in an exposition of Muslim
artists in the Islamia College of Kolkata. In the Kolkata period of his life, he was also
involved in activities like designing covers and drawing cartoons for periodical and
illustrating Eid editions of dailies and weeklies.
The Indian subcontinent became free from colonial rule while Quamrul was still a
student. ‘Pakistan’, the Promised Land for Bengali Muslims was born;
simultaneously a huge number of people had to leave their motherland as a
consequence of the partition of Bengal. With his mother and siblings Quamrul also
came to ‘East Bengal’ (1948).
Pakistan period
Immediately after his arrival, he involved himself in the task of establishing an art
school in Dhaka under the leadership of Zainul Abedin. When the Art Institute was
founded in September, 1948, he began his professional life by joining as one of the
eminent founder teachers of the Institute. He fulfilled his duty as a teacher in the
Institute until his appointment as the Chief Designer of Design Centre on March 19,
1960. Besides working as a teacher, he also founded Dhaka Art Group (1950) with a
view to develop the art scene and was elected the secretary of this group. Two art
exhibitions took place in Dhaka (1951 and 1952) at the initiative of this group.
During this period he became deeply absorbed in the cultural activities of the country.
He was the organizer of the first ever birth anniversary program (1951) of
Rabindranath Tagore in this country; he was also one of the initiators for the
establishment of Bulbul Lalitkala Academy (1955). Other than that he actively
participated in the cultural conferences that took place in Chittagong (1951), Comilla
(1952), Dhaka (1954) and Kagmari of Tangail (1957). The inauguration ceremony of fig. 8.12 Roybenshe
the second exhibition of the Dhaka Art Group was supposed to take place on February Dance, linocut, 1974
22, 1952. The incident of 21st February took place
while he was present in the old museum for the
preparation of the exhibition. Under the
circumstances, he decided to postpone the exhibition
and became involved with the Language Movement in
the days that followed. Thus, his illusions about
Pakistan were shattered.
In this phase he was deeply involved in commercial art.
He proved his skill in various activities including
designing book covers, illustrating books and
periodicals and adding artistry and beauty to diverse
ventures. Along with other co-artists he even set up an
organization for commercial art called ‘Vibgyor’.

312 ART AND CRAFTS


Joining Design Center allowed him ample opportunities to get acquainted with the
wide world of folk art and handicrafts. The esteem for folk art that grew in him during
his involvement in the Brotochari movement deepened during this period and he
utilized his own talent to help traditional arts flourish. He arranged for the sale of
saris showcasing traditional designs in a sari shop called ‘Rupayan’ and it helped
develop the taste of middle-class Bengalis.
He was active in the self-rule movement of Bengalis since 1968. During the days of
the mass uprisal in 1969, he participated in the movement as a member of the
Bikkshubdho Shilpi Shamaj. He used to be present along with artists from music and
film sectors in the dramas staged at the Shaheed Minar (Language Monument) area
and in programs of songs of the people sung on moving trucks. In February 1969 he
inaugurated the first Aksharbriksha (Alphabet-tree) in the Bat (Ficus Bengalis) tree
in Bangla Academy (fig. 8.11). In the years 1969 and 1970 he created many posters
in favor of Bengali nationalism. In this manner, Quamrul, a supporter of the Pakistan
movement during the 40s, became a warrior of Bengali nationalism and was
completely involved in the Liberation War of 1971.
Bangladesh period
He got involved in the non-cooperation movement of March, 1971 and was
nominated the chairman of the Resistance Committee of Hatirpul area. On March 23,
he put up at least ten posters portraying the monstrous face of Yahya Khan on the wall
of the central Shaheed Minar. Under his leadership, trenches were dug late in the
night in Hatirpul on March 25, 1971. In the first week of April he left Dhaka for
Kolkata and arrived there on April 12. There he was appointed the Director of the Art
and Design department under the Information and Radio Ministry of the Government
in exile and skillfully fulfilled his duties. During this time the poster based on his
cartoon portraying a monstrous visage of Yahya greatly inspired the freedom fighters
(fig. 4.9). He also arranged an art exhibition in Kolkata in favor of the Liberation War.
During the last half of December he returned to Dhaka to help develop the newly
liberated homeland. Designing the national flag of Bangladesh is the most important
work he did in this period. He also designed the monogram of the Bangladesh
Government. Other than that, he designed the monograms of Bangladesh Biman,
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (pl. 4.18) and Muktijoddha Kalyan Trust.
Quamrul’s reverence for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was steadfast. However, he did
not support Bangladesh Krishak Shramik Awami League (BAKSHAL) or one-party
rule (1975). Nevertheless, after the grievous events on August 15, 1975, he again
boldly honored Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in an open meeting. When the forces
against the Liberation War rose after 1975, the situation was stifling for Quamrul
Hassan and he courageously continued his battle against these forces. His art,
writings and speeches were always against the enemies of liberation. As a result, his
studio was vandalized in the 80s.The cover design of the book Ekattarer Ghatok o
Dalalera Ke Kothay (1986) is designed by him. His rage and hatred for autocratic

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 313


military rule was also intensely reflected in this period. He was exposed to the ideal
of communism in the 40s; his involvement continued in the decades of the 50s and
60s and grew in the period after the liberation. During the 80s he was active in
several communist organizations.
His creativity progressed uninhibitedly along with his constant struggle in favor of
humanity. His creative activities continued, regardless of circumstances. No matter
where he was, at home or in the office, in meetings or fairs, in the middle of a journey
or at a station – everywhere – he created drawings on any available material, such as
a scrap of paper or a box of cigarettes. This trait was innate in him and his drawings
were executed in great speed. In this manner, he left behind countless creations. He
gladly gave away his creations to his close acquaintances, and was not at all business-
minded concerning the sale of his art. He believed in disseminating his work among
a large number of people.
Artistic Consciousness
1.
The inspiration for incorporating folk traditions in his art is not superficial at all. This
love for tradition was implanted in the core of his ideal of life. As a result, the
attributes of folk art profoundly influenced his artworks. A scrutiny of his drawings,
techniques of delineating figures, use of colors and lines point to this fact. Historical
studies of his devotion towards folk traditions reveal several sources.
First of all, one year after his enrolment in Calcutta Art School (July 1938), he
participated in a monthlong Brotochari camp (December 1939). This movement was
established by Gurusaday Dutt with a view to establish the richness of Bengali
heritage to stand against colonialism. Quamrul was hugely inspired by this movement
and believed in its ideals until his death. It was in this camp that he got acquainted
with patuas (folk painters) and learned about the significance of pata paintings as the
oldest art form of Bengalis. He was mainly attracted to their use of primary colors,
drawing of figures in profile, two-dimensional quality, spontaneous use of lines etc.
and incorporated these visual elements in his own artworks. Due to his deep
reverence and love for this traditional art form of Bangladesh he felt proud to
introduce himself as a ‘Patua’. It was in this camp that he learned the Raybenshe
dance of Birbhum and he was determined to demonstrate the energy of Bengali
people through this dance. His work Raibenshe Nritya (Linocut, 1974) is a proof of
this statement (fig. 8.12). The speed and boldness displayed through the excellent
composition in this work also speaks volumes for the artist’s skill.
Secondly, the ideals of art practiced by Jamini Roy (1889-1972) and in some cases
Nandalal Bose (1882-1966) have influenced Quamrul Hassan. When he again turned
to look at folk art as a result of Zainul’s suggestion in the 50s, Jamini Roy’s art along
with pata paintings presented themselves as his ideal. It is evident in an evaluation of
Jamini Roy by Quamrul Hassan. 109 However, the capacity he showed in synthesizing
qualities of modern art with folk art invoked a realization in him that he had long

314 ART AND CRAFTS


surpassed Jamini Roy. Consequentially he declared to many people: ‘Quamrul Hassan
begins where Jamini Roy ends.’ 110 [Trans.] We will determine the significance of this
statement later. In the context of Nandalal Bose it can be said that differences between
the ideals of art of the two artists are abundant; however it is possible to discover some
similarities between the two artists in the style Nandalal expressed in his series painted
for the Haripura Conference of the Congress (1937) which may be said to have some
affinity with Quamrul’s work. In the Harpura series Nandalal Bose’s search was for the
folk art of Bengal and lifestyle of rural households. The similar qualities between the
two artists are clearly understandable when the work titled Mother and Child of this
series (pl. 1.6) and Quamrul Hassan’s work under the same title (pl. 8.10), done in
tempera in the 50s, are seen together.
Thirdly, Quamrul Hassan’s devotion for folk art reached maturity after his
appointment in the Design Centre. Quamrul was greatly moved by Zainul’s statement
in favor of folk art after returning from Europe in the beginning of the 50s and this
brought some changes in his own art style. The famous painting under the title Tin
Kanya (Three women) (Oil painting, 1955) is an excellent example of this (pl. 8.12).
After he joined Design Center he had ample opportunities to observe folk art and
cottage industry extensively, understand the characteristics of these works and get to
know the artists closely. As a result, he not only helped in the development of folk art
of the country, but also enriched his own works with qualities of folk art. In this
manner, various motifs and language of folk art became an important aspect of his
art. The form of folk dolls, fish and birds painted on Saher Handi (painted pots) of
Rajshahi, animals representing evil forces such as - owls, foxes, snakes, crocodiles,
lizards, vultures etc. crowded his canvas along with harmless animals like peacocks,
cocks, cows, horses, elephants, cats, storks etc. (fig. 3.9)
When we look at these three points as sources of Quamrul Hassan’s art and thus
attempt to analyze his love for tradition, we discover that although he borrowed
thematic and stylistic elements from folk art, his paintings are not overpowered by
folk art. He did not forget that he is a modern painter, and not a folk artist. As a result,
attributes of modern western art are presented equally with qualities and elements of
folk art in his work. He has attained originality by mixing the two trends in an
unprecedented manner.
Although he borrowed the two-dimensionality of pata paintings of folk art in his
work, he also attempted to give the quality of three-dimensionality in it. Instead of
using mixed colors, in most of his paintings he used primary colors like pata painters.
Sometimes he applied flat color without creating tonal variations – like folk artists.
However, he has attempted to create color perspective by using various colors in one
plane, so that a sense of distance, or height and width, is created in the image. This
was done in the manner of modern western artists, especially Henri Matisse (1869-
1954) and this helped him create three-dimensionality in his art.

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 315


The same analysis is valid for his drawings also. When drawing human figures, folk
artists prefer to draw heads in profile. Quamrul has used this technique in such a way
that the two-dimensionality of the image is intact, but a three-dimensional volume is
created. To achieve this effect he borrowed from Cubism. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
was clearly the major influence on him in this case. Like Picasso, Quamrul also
succeeded in the combined representation of a face seen simultaneously from the side
and front. Besides, it seems as if he was following Picasso’s footsteps when he placed
an eye outside the face in some instances (pl. 1.14). 111
Like Cubists, Quamrul consciously avoided showing the full figure and endeavored
to build figures by composing different parts. An effort to break the planes of forms
and to overlap different parts and to create multiple dimensions in an image is
apparent in his art. This trait is common in his works done during the 70s and 80s.
This synthesis between folk art and modern art was a part of his relentless
experimentation. As a result, conscious geometric lines along with spontaneous lines
in the manner of pata paintings can be easily discovered in his art.
Quamrul Hassan’s quote concerning Jamini Roy should be considered here:
‘Quamrul Hassan begins where Jamini Roy ends.’ Jamini Roy avoided the grandeur
and complexity of European techniques and strived to maintain the two-
dimensionality of folk art along with techniques, method of color application and the
narrative style of pata painting. The achievement of wholeness in images based
solely on two-dimensionality is the strongest characteristic of his style. He has taken
lessons by following the patas from Kalighat and the balance inherent in the
compositions on the terracotta plaques of the temples of Bengal. Decorativeness
along with taking recourse to the religous narratives in the manner of folk art also
became a part of his visual vocabulary. But Quamrul was interested in adding
complexities of modern European art. He picked up elements from folk art only to
help viewers understand that his art is rooted in the heritage of Bengal. Perhaps such
an attempt can be sporadically found in Jamini Roy’s art also. However, these
attempts to integrate modern art with folk art are not as successful and mature in
Jamini’s works, as they are in Quamrul’s. Quamrul avoided decorativeness and chose
to portray contemporary life instead.
The patriotism in Quamrul Hassan’s art was born as a result of his involvement in
folk art. The love for his own country is manifest in his search for worthy subject
matters. The subject matters that dominate his canvas clearly represent Bangladesh.
These are all signs that the search for the true identity of his country was active in his
spirit. His artistic spirit was not blinded by the artificial trappings of urban life.
Contrarily, he was passionate about the life of lower class people. Some of the
important works that bear testimony to this fact are Goon Tana (oils, 50’s), The
Happy Return (oils, 1960 – painted as Naiyor in 1975), Baul (watercolor, 1967-
Linocut, 1974 – oils, 1977), Jele (fisherman) (watercolor, 1967 – oils, 1982), Gorur
Snan (bath of the cow) (watercolor, 1967), Fish Dream (linocut, 1974), Meen o Biral/
(fish and cat) (gouache, 1974), Nabanna (watercolor, 1977) etc.

316 ART AND CRAFTS


2.
While discussing Quamrul Hassan’s patriotism, the matter of his political
consciousness in personal life and in the style of his art is also worth evaluating.
Political consciousness grew in him as a result of various activities such as
involvement with Forward Block while he was a student of Calcutta Art School during
the 40s, involvement with the writers and artists association against fascism and in the
activities of the people’s theatre, editing the booklets of the All-Indian Student
Federation etc. Other than that, a different kind of political awareness developed in
him as a result of his close association with the Brotochari movement and
involvement with two organizations for children and youth, under the names of
Monimela and Mukulfouz. Because of these activities communalism did not take root
in him, although he was an active supporter of Pakistan. The cartoons he drew for
newspapers are a clear manifestation of his political and social awareness. The
fig. 8.13 Woman cartoons that he published under the pseudonym ‘Bhimrul’ in the 40s in various
Freedom Fighter, ink, newspapers such as Millat, Aloron, Comrade etc. Clearly evidence his sense of
1971 political satire. Among these, two cartoons Bohurupi Fazlul Haque (Manyfaced Fazlul
Haque) (Millat. 1946) and Nazimuddin (Aloron,
1948) deserve special mention. In the first one
Fazlul Haque is seen wearing a sherwani on one
side and dhoti and shawl on theother side of his
body, on one side of his head is a Rumi topi and on
the other side a chaitan. Through this cartoon the
artist has portrayed Fazlul Haque’s oscillating
political views in the contemporary context. In the
second cartoon Khwaza Nazimuddin is seen giving
a speech, standing on a stage stating, ‘Urdu alone
shall be the State Language…’ while Mohammed
Ali Jinnah is seen prompting him from behind.
When Urdu was declared the State Language in
1948, the first opposition came from student bodies
of this country and this disagreement turned into the
Language Movement. Khwaza Nazimuddin, a
supporter of the reactionary rulers of Pakistan stood
in favor of Urdu. This cartoon represents
Nazimuddin’s stand satirically.
This political awareness was not only alive in him
until his death, it also increased gradually. As a
result, he was deeply involved in the political and
cultural movements that took place in favor of
Bengali nationalism, during the 50s and 60s. His
political views were fully expressed by various

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 317


actions such as, actively participating in various cultural
congresses and activities that took place in the country during
the 50s, showcasing Bengali identity by using the Bengali
alphabet as motifs in saris, joining the mass uprisal of 1969
under the banner of ‘Bikshubdho Shilpi Shamaj’, inaugurating
the Aksharbriksh (alphabet tree) in the Bangla Academy and
finally by participating in the non-cooperation movement in
March 1971, and leaving for Kolkata with the intention of
dedicating himself in various activities to aid the Liberation War
was the final expression of his political commitments. The
poster with the demonical portrait of Yahiya is an immemorable
creation by him (fig. 4.9). When the Mujibnagar Government
decided to disseminate more than one lakh copies of this cartoon
as posters, it fired the spirit of freedom fighters and supporters
of the Liberation War to such a great extent that, it became an
integral part of the history of the Liberation War. This cartoon is
significant not only in terms of thematic relevance, but also in
artistic merit. It is a result of a long period of study and
experimentation on the artist’s part. During the Liberation War,
another cartoon by Quamrul Hassan was printed in the People
newspaper, published from Mujibnagar. In this cartoon the monstrous figure of fig. 8.14 Fox, oil, 1976
bloodthirsty Yahya is seen sitting on the skull of a Bengali; this cartoon was also
politically motivated. Some of his other mentionable works based on the Liberation
War are Freedom Fighter (Sketch, 1971), Female Freedom Fighter (Black Ink,
1971)(fig 8.12), Ganahatyar Agey O Ganahatyar Porey (before and after the
genocide) (oils 1971), 1971-er Seisab Janowarder Jer Teney (speaking of the animals
during 1971) (sketch 1972) etc.
His series titled Image ’74 shows the crystallization of his political views. He
witnessed a tendency to sacrifice ethics and morals for selfish gains among the
bureaucracy, businessmen, political figures and rulers in the newly liberated country
and it greatly enraged and pained him. The series Image’74 is rich in terms of
symbolic representation of the new evil forces in the newly formed nation. Snakes,
lizards, foxes etc. are used as symbols. Bureaucratic sluggishness is portrayed
symbolically through the turtle. The visual language of these images, done in linocuts
and wood engravings is different from his previous works. A grim scenario is revealed
through the stark black and white images. The image titled Fox (Oils, 1976) also
embodies Quamrul’s political thoughts (fig 8.14). fox has entered the canvas as a
symbol of violent and complex anti-democratic forces that ruled the country after the
change in the political scene in 1975.
The last creation of the artist is also important as an example of his political
understanding and love for his country. In the cartoon titled Desh Aj Bishwabehayar

318 ART AND CRAFTS


Khapparey (1988) he combined the snake and the fox and created a face in such a
manner that it not only portrays an autocrat, but also represents any evil force (fig
4.10). This last cartoon by the artist is a unique instance of the artist’s mature political
ideas, thoughts about art, a longing for goodness and democracy and also a unique
example of his spontaneous skill in art.
3
Female figures occupy a major part of Quamrul Hassan’s art. He has portrayed the
diverse beauty and poses of Bengali women in countless ways. Starting in his youth
and until his death female figures were always a priority in his art. As an artist he was
possessed by an insatiable thirst for beauty; and the thirst for beauty of the human
form was a part of his repertoire. It is important to remember that Pablo Picasso was
an idol to Quamrul Hassan. 112 Picasso’s lifestyle and art influenced him in numerous
ways. Perhaps he was also influenced by Picasso’s search for variety in the female
form in his art. A critic has compared Quamrul’s mentality about women to that of
Picasso’s. 113 However, the difference between the drawings of female forms by the
two artists is also clear. The females in Picasso’s art seem to appear with their
fig. 8.15 Bathing physical existence of flesh and blood after an emotional catharsis based on the artist’s
oil, 1966 physical senses. However, Quamrul’s females hint at a distant attraction, rather than
oneness with the artist; and this attraction seems to be unending. He
seems to nurture a kind of longing. As a result, his search for beauty
persists and the measure of his romantic feelings can be sensed
through this also .
1
One critic has commented that Quamrul has taught their [the critic’s]
generation to see women. The eternal image of Bengali women
occupies his canvas. In his painting the beauty of woman ia a soft
delicate and pleasant procession, and it longs to take recourse to a
kind of sublimation. According to another critic, Quamrul’s canvas
114
embodies the archetypal women, which embodies an eternal symbolic
identity of this country and its people. 115 It is true that Quamrul’s
females represent an age-old Bangladesh. Women and nature are
inseparable in his art. Sometimes the identities of sister and daughter
are represent in the eternal mother figures. 116 These comments by
critics concerning Quamrul’s representation of women are
appropriate. He has sought female beauty in the background of nature.
A modern outlook and a higher sense of beauty can be discerned in
this search. A subtle similarity exists between the beauty of women
and nature. Female beauty cannot always be comprehended with the
mere senses; this beauty has a universal appeal that goes beyond the
sensous. This very modern concept also circulated in Quamrul
Hassan. As a result, the idea of comparing female beauty with nature
is representative of a higher consciousness of the artist.

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 319


It should be mentioned that women began to occupy a major part of Quamrul’s art
since the 50s. Although Quamrul lost his mother only when he was fifteen (1936), he
was always emotional and grieved by her memory. 117 On the other hand, he was
betrothed in 1959; and a relationship of love had developed between him and his wife
several years before their marriage. This relation was extremely emotional, exciting
and diverse. It should be marked that his observations on women are not fixed at one
point, but divided in several phases; and these divisions are closely related to his
personal joys and sorrows. For example, the first phase: the 50s: love and premarital
stage; second phase: the end of 50s to the beginning of the 70s: happy conjugal life;
third phase: the 70s and the 80s: the time of marital separation.
Some of the important works done in the first phase are Mother (drawing, 1952),
Waiting (drawing, 1952), Gossip (oils, 50s), Palli (tempera, 50s) Mother and Child
(Tempera, 50s), Two Neighbour Women in Conversation (oils, 50s), Three Women
(oils, 1955) (pl. 8.12) etc. In this phase females appear mainly as mothers and
homemakers, rather than as lovers. A kind of nostalgia is present in the rural environs
within which the females are located. The artist is full of memories of the fatherland
he left long ago; the female faces are also filled with similar emotions. All the three
women portrayed in a gossiping mood in the work titled Gossip were personally close
to the artist. He did not try to draw their exact portraits; rather the impression of three
familiar faces and their way of sitting are gleaned from memory. The painting shows
a gossiping scene that Quamrul saw in his childhood and his mother plays the role of
the central figure. One of the other two women is ‘Kalo Bou’, the vegetable seller
from the nearby area called Bagdipara; the other one is Munglikhana, a Santal
woman. 118 Painted after at least one and a half decades after his mother’s death, this
painting reveals Quamrul’s search for his mother’s beauty. Simultaneously, he
illustrated the common lazy gossip of Bengali rural women. The most significant work
from the first phase is Three Women. He created countless paintings based on the same
theme in later periods. Three bashful women wearing saris of three primary colors are
walking down path shaded by banana trees, on their way to fetch water. The brightness
in the painting created by a combination of colors of the deep blue, red and yellow
saris and the yellow-green of the banana and kochu (arum) leaves speak of the inner
joy of the three women. Cubist techniques are employed in the drawing of the faces,
figures and natural environment. There is an effort to create volume in drawing the
figures. But present in the single color of the saris devoid of any design is the
simplicity and two-dimensionality of folk art. This painting is important as a primary
representative of the successful synthesis he achieved between lines and forms of folk
art and the Cubist style in his later period.
A new dimension entered Quamrul Hassan’s thoughts concerning women as a result
of some personal experiences such as love, marriage, a happy conjugal life and birth
of his daughter (1961) and it was reflected in his works done in the second phase.
Some of the notable works from this period are After Bath (Lithograph, 1958), Jalkeli

320 ART AND CRAFTS


(waterplay) (pencil, 1962), Ekakitva (loneliness) (watercolor, 1962), Bathing (oils,
1966) (fig. 8.15), Peep (gouache, 1967) (pl. 8.14), Three Women (watercolor, 1967)
etc. These images speak of an effort to comprehend the feelings of a woman and it is
a result of close relations with women on the artist’s part. Three images deserve
special mention: After Bath (1958), Jalkeli (waterplay) and Bathing (1966). All the
three images manifest an attempt to express the beauty of the female nude. It is easily
noticeable that the physical beauty of female forms was revealed in a different
dimension in this period. His personal life directly influenced the birth of these
paintings. It is remarkable that although the three images are done in different media,
all of them are related to the theme of bath and the females in all the three works are
depicted in the same postures. The beauty of female forms is always a subject for
study to the artist. The search for beauty does not end in facial studies; rather, it stop
only after exploring the whole body. It can be derived through these images that these
experiences reached fullness in Quamrul Hassan as a result of love and marriage.
Among Quamrul’s paintings of females, the painting Peep is distinctive (pl. 8.14). It
is an image of a lower-class Bengali woman. The image shows a corner of a room and
represents rural life. A single moment is depicted here, when the woman is secretly
observing an outdoor scene with great curiosity. It depicts the typical lifestyle of a
rural housewife. The immense curiosity is a result of the inability to move freely in the
outside world; compelling the woman to inquisitively peep outside. Following the
manners of folk art, the woman is drawn in full figure, in a slightly slanting pose. The
softness depicted in the figure is also a reminder of the Bengal School.
The third phase is marked by the crisis in his marital life and separation. The crisis
began in the post-liberation era and he was completely separated from his wife in
1976. Although this crisis and separation was a source of mental anguish it had no
negative impact in his work. Quite contrarily, he was at his creative best during the
seventies and eighties. A never-ending search for beauty is present in his incessant
creative processes. In this phase he worshipped female beauty in its many forms and
postures. These women are youthful and robust, sometimes they are close to nature,
head bent in shyness and often bare-bosomed. Drawing postures - or in other words,
manifestations of external beauty - took precedence over portraying emotional
relationships in this period. It cannot be said that all female nudes drawn in this period
embody beauty, though critics show a partiality for Quamrul. According to critics
‘Nudity does not evoke lust, rather a simple innocence surrounds it.’ 119 [Trans.] and
‘Even when the artist draws female nudes as mere studies they are free of any
crudity….In our consideration a sense of beauty and universal sense unconsciously
grows in the nudes.’ 120 [Trans.] In an interview the artist himself has explained ‘Don’t
think that I draw female nudes as a result of any suppressed passion.’ [Trans.] He
121
identifies three successive women as sources of inspiration; his mother in his
childhood, his loved one and wife, and daughter in the later stage of his life. Despite
122
these references we will say that some of the nudes he drew do not quite reflect the

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 321


comments of the critics or the above explanation by the artist. In some of the nudes
from this period desire and passion are a dominant factor and it invites a kind of
perversion which reflects the artists intimacy and honesty with his work. Perhaps it is
only natural that some suppressed desire was active in the artist’s subconscious mind
during this period of marital separation. However these examples are very few in
number. If these minor exceptions are excluded, we have to admit that the huge
amount of females drawn by him in four decades is a source of immeasurable beauty.
4.
a. One of the distinctive aspects of Quamrul Hassan’s art lies in the variety of media
he employed. He moved effortlessly from oil paintings and watercolor. Other than
these two media, he has produced many works in gouache and tempera and used
pastels and poster color. He used many techniques of printmaking as well. He
created numerous works in wood engravings, linocuts, etchings, serigraphs,
lithographs etc. Besides working in all these media, he also created sculptures.
b. Quamrul Hassan can be called the pioneer of commercial art in this country.
Although the artists before him such as Kazi Abul Kasem and Zainul Abedin
designed covers of books and illustrated periodicals, starting at the end of the
40s, only Quamrul Hassan created a huge amount of commercial art and acquired
great skill in this field. He also institutionalized commercial art. He was a teacher
of the Graphic Design department in the Fine Arts Institute. Although he was
involved in commercial work, there was no commercialism in his taste.
Quamrul used drawings, motifs and colors relevant to the subject matter in
graphic works such as illustrations and decoration of books and newspapers. As
a result, his commercial art too gained significance. Even the calligraphy done
by him bears his signature of beauty. It was Quamrul Hassan who first
established the concept in Bangladesh that alongside painting, the art of cover
design and illustration is also important as a different medium where the
graphical quality takes precedence.
c. Another significant aspect of Quamrul Hassan’s creative talent is revealed in his
note books. Between the period of May 8, 1977 and February 1, 1988 he has
regularly written his diary in 42 note books. These chronicles contain not only a
description and analysis of contemporary events, but also an evaluation of his
acquaintances. Many unexpressed boundaries of his private emotions are also
revealed in these records. The standard of these writings and there historical value
are definitely considerable. However, each page of these diaries is significant as
a testimony of the artist’s sense of beauty. His beautiful handwriting is further
embellished with the use of multi-colored ink. Other than that, he decorated each
page with various drawings and designs and thus each section has become a piece
of art. The designs consist of vines and flowers or motifs derived from these. In
the middle of the writings and at the sides outlines, drawings of female faces and
animals in various movements are utilized. The writing is not always of the same

322 ART AND CRAFTS


size. The paper is used differently for different writings; sometimes the paper is
used vertically, sometimes horizontally. Sometimes the lines are all equal in size
and sometimes the size varies. His use of multiple colors, variety in size and area,
sometimes arranged like lines of verse and employing drawings or designs to fill
in the empty space – have all combined to create unparalleled beauty.
5
In a discussion related to the development of his art, the works done during his student
years are to be considered first. Among the works done in the period between 1938
and 1947 the following deserve special mention; Zoo Study (watercolor, 1938), Eider
Chand Dekha (sighting the Eid moon) (Watercolor, 1930’s), Jharer Pakhi (after the
storm) (pencil, 1942), the portrait of Sirajuddowla (gouache, 1943) and two famine
sketches (Pen and ink, 1943). These works clearly reflect the effort to follow the
academic method. The influence of Mughal miniature paintings is evident along with
academic method in the three works done in watercolor and gouache. It should be
remembered that as a student of the first year he received guidance from Abdul Moin
(1913-39), who was the first Muslim teacher of Calcutta Art School and highly skilled
in Indian miniature paintings. Although this teacher died within the first year of
Quamrul Hassan’s arrival in the art school, he remembered him until his death. This
123
artist was motivated by the Bengal School of art, established by Abanindranath Tagore
(1871-1951) and the first phase of Quamrul’s art is a testimonial that Abdul Moin’s art
had a constructive influence on his artistic perception.
Quamrul painted in the method of pata paintings for the first time for the exhibition
of Muslim artists held in the Islamia College, Kolkata; but this attempt was a little
isolated. It was mainly during the 50s that he felt at one with folk heritage, stirred by
Zainul Abedin’s opinions. The art of Jamini Roy and Nandalal Bose also influenced
Quamrul. Simultaneously, he was enthused by Picasso’s Cubist style and Matisse’s
use of color. However, Quamrul’s achievement lies in a successful integration of the
stylistic qualities of eastern and western art. He was dedicated to form an original
method of art combining the spontaneous lines used in folk art and pure geometric
lines of Cubism.
The artworks done in the 60s express romanticism. In this decade, portraying females
integrated in nature became a major aspect of his art. Although both these trends were
present in his art as early as in the 50s, they became obvious only in the 60s. Also, as
it was in this decade that he had ample opportunities to be involved in folk art, its
influence on his art became stronger.
During the seventies his art was swept away by a new dream for a free country. His
works portrayed nature in close association with the simple lifestyle of rural men and
women; birds and animals that are a part of daily life also crowded his canvas. Folk
tradition continued to be incorporated in his work. However, his dream did not last
long. He was distressed by unfulfilled dreams and an all-encompassing annihilation

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 323


brought upon by evil forces during the post-war era. In order to unmask the real
identity of this evil force, he began to search for symbolic representation. In this
manner various animals occupied his pictures as symbols of evil.
The success of Quamrul Hassan’s experimentation done throughout the previous three
decades reached its peak in works done in the 80s. In this decade he endeavored to
present his own thoughts and perceptions in its many details through countless
drawings. The combination of the folk tradition with the Cubist style, the unification
of woman and nature, romanticism, churning the sea of folk art and incorporating its
essence into his own art, the symbolization of evil forces and depicting human life,
nature and animals in unison in his pictorial representation by which he created an
imaginative form of welbeing etc. all of these trends converged at a single point in this
decade and gave his creations deeper meaning.










































Translated by Sanjida Shaheed, Student, MFA, Institute of Fine Art, University of Dhaka

324 ART AND CRAFTS





c. Safiuddin Ahmed
Sovon Som


Safiuddin Ahmed was born on 23 June 1922 at Bhabanipur in Kolkata in a liberal and
aristocratic Muslim family. His father Matinuddin Ahmed was a sub-registrar of the
Land Office of the Government of Bengal. His mother Bibi Jamila Khatun was a
housewife. For three generations his joint family had lived in his paternal homestead
in Bhabanipur. His paternal grandfather, Aminuddin Ahmed, was a popular doctor of
Bhabanipur. He was known as Bechu Daktar by the people of that locality. The road
in front of his house was named Bechu Daktar Lane after his death under the initiative
of Kolkata Municipality. Even now it is known by the same name.
Bhabanipur was then adjacent to shahebpara Chaurangi. Although people from
different provinces lived in this area, the majority of the inhabitants were culturally
conscious Bengali Hindus and Muslims. Baliganj of South Kolkata was then in the
suburbs, populated sparsely. Bhabanipur was the most aristocratic area of South
Kolkata and located here were the homesteads of many distinguished Bengalis of that
and later times. The first twenty-four years of Safiuddin’s life was spent in this milieu
devoted to the pursuit of education and cultural activity prevalent in Bhabanipur. As a
result, Safiuddin was encouraged by his immediate environment to participate in
activities related to music, art, literature and the student movement.
In 1936 when he got admitted to the Calcutta Government Art School it was only
rarely and in very negligible numbers that children from Muslim families went to the
Art School. Mukulchandra Dey who hailed from Dhaka was the principal of this
school at that time. Rabindranath Tagore looked upon Mukul Chandra with fatherly
fig. 8.16 affection; Mukulchandra had been a student of the Santiniketan Brahmacharya School
Safiuddin Ahmed and the classmate of Tagore’s prematurely deceased youngest son, Samindranath. It
was at Rabindranath’s wish that Mukulchandra first went as his
traveling companion to Japan in 1916 and later to the USA to learn
the techniques of printmaking. Later, in 1920 he went to the Royal
College in London for higher education in Fine Arts. He studied there
under Moorehead Bone and William Rothenstein, the admirers of
Rabindranath. An Associate of the Royal College in 1928, Mukul
Chandra joined the Government Art School of Kolkata as its first
Indian Principal on returning from London. He held the post of
Principal till 1943.
In 1903 Upendrakishore Raychaudhuri of Mymensingh introduced to
this country the photographic technique of block making from
England. Until then various pictures, maps, etc. were printed in the

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 325


intaglio methods of etching, engraving,
etc. or by lithography. For this reason
printmaking was taught in the
Commercial Art or Applied Art
Department of the Government Art
School. After joining the Art School as
the Principal, Mukul Chandra
introduced many reforms. It was under
his initiative that printmaking began to
be taught as a subsidiary subject to
painting in the Fine Arts Department.
Mukulchandra engaged the experienced
Ramendranath Chakravorty as a teacher of printmaking as a creative art form. Inspired fig. 8.17 Homeward,
by them Safiuddin learned the techniques of printmakings along with painting. Even in wood engraving, 1944
the mid-twentieth century printmaking was not considered a mainstream medium in this
subcontinent. Even now in the Government Art College of Kolkata (which was a school
at that time) at the Bachelor’s Degree level printmaking is taught as a subsidiary to
painting. The printmaking medium was not at that time among the mainstream media
like painting and sculpture and one of Safiuddin’s greatest achievements is that he
helped raise this discipline of apparently secondary importance by adopting it as the
main medium for his creative works and assisted it to reach a status equal to that of
painting and sculpture. Without doubt he showed great courage by adopting this
discipline of apparently secondary importance as the primary medium of his creative
compositions in the middle of the previous century. Moreover, he inspired many artists
of this subcontinent to use the medium of printmaking. Somnath Hore who is one of the
foremost Indian printmakers was his student.
Ninety years ago in undivided India in 1916 Rabindranath was able to understand the
importance of printmaking and took Mukul Chandra to Japan and the United States as
his traveling companion to practice and learn this discipline, later he sent him to
England for higher education. In 1924 Rabindranath took Surendranath Kar, a teacher
at the Kala Bhavana, as his traveling companion to Europe and Surendranath studied
lithography in England. With Rabindranath’s assistance Bishwarup Bose, a student of
Kala Bhavana went to Japan in 1929 to learn colored woodcut or Japanese Ukiyo-e.
Rabindranath could comprehend the bright future of this discipline even in the early
years of the twentieth century when printmaking was used in Kolkata and in various
other centers of India only for making commercial labels, advertisements etc. He first
sent Mukul Chandra abroad to learn etching and engraving, later Surendranath to learn
lithography, and Bishwarup to learn colored woodcut. White line wood engraving was
taught in the Government Art School of Kolkata following the tradition of Thomas
Bewick of England. In this tradition light and shade was captured in the variations of
engraving the lines, and the world as it appears was shown with as much exactness as
possible. In 1923 the woodcut artist André Karpellès of the expressionist tradition of

326 ART AND CRAFTS


woodcut from mainland Europe, came to Santiniketan on being invited by
Rabindranath. The trend in which she taught woodcut printmaking in Santiniketan
showed the visual world in broad essentials of black and white, which we can see in the
prints of Edward Munch. As a student Nandalal Bose learned metal etching-engraving-
drypoint in the Art School of Kolkata. He applied the new method of woodcut that he
learned from Andrée in the linocuts of the Shahajpath Prothom Bhag.
The creative tradition of printmaking was introduced in this country by Mukul
Chandra-Ramendranath-Surendranath-Bishwarup on their return from abroad after
learning the techniques of printmaking with the direct patronage of Rabindranath.
That same tradition was accepted and carried on by Safiuddin, Harendranath Das,
Muralidhar Tali and others as successors. This teacher to student chain of succession
was extended by Safiuddin to Pakistan and later to Bangladesh. This tradition
continues to the present in the subcontinent.
Safiuddin lost his father in his boyhood. He grew up under the care of his paternal
uncles and his mother. At that time education in the Art School was generally viewed
as a vocational education in Bengali society. Draftsmanship was also taught at the
school as a support to architecture. This discipline guaranteed a job. Safiuddin wanted
to study it. His guardians were of the same mind. But Principal Mukul Chandra could
sense the talent in this young student of his. If Safiuddin had learnt draftsmanship he
would have become a skilled craftsman, not an artist. As a result, he studied fine arts
following the wishes of his teacher. Safiuddin himself was divided and in conflict
about this. He was helped by Abdul Moin, a young teacher of the Art School, in
removing the unease caused by this dilemma. This sensitive, efficient and talented
teacher-artist died an untimely death at the age of only twenty-four. Safiuddin
flourished by his contact with Abdul Moin and through his encouragement calmness
was restored to his mind.
Safiuddin came into proximity with many people while studying in the Art School
from 1930 to 1942. As he practiced painting nature studies and landscapes and went
to draw people with the students to the bank of the Ganges, the zoo and the Sealdah
Station, likewise he went to the studio in the home of the teacher Prohlad Karmakar
in Kankurgachhi area for doing nude studies. At that time the Muslim graveyard
Kankurgachhi was a village in the suburbs of Kolkata. The studio of Prohlad, which
always had its door open to visitors, was also frequented by Dilip Dasgupta, Zainul
Abedin and others. This means, Safiuddin was one of those who spent most of the
hours of the day practicing art, through studies outside the school and in Prohlad’s
studio. Other than this, as students they regularly went to the Radha area at the western
border of Bengal to Birbhum and the adjacent Dumka area of Jharkhand. The
everyday life of the Santals of that area, the dry landscape, vegetation, slowly flowing
rivers, sky, horizons of Radha have repeatedly appeared as subjects of the paintings
and prints done during his student life. The Second World War started in Europe in
1939. From the early forties there began in Kolkata a widespread mass movement

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 327


against war, famine and imperialist oppression. At that time it was not possible for any
conscientious student and individual to remain neutral and uninvolved. Zainul Abedin
was busy through the language of his brush in an individual movement against famine,
but he was not actively involved in any collective struggle. Though his drawings were
inspired by the famine in Bengal, they have turned into a universal protest against
famine irrespective of time and place. This was something rare and special in the art
of the subcontinent in the twentieth century. The album that was published in
December 1940 with the aim of providing aid to the famine victims of Bengal entitled
Bengal Painters’Testimony by the All India Students’Federation had as its four editors
Arun Dasgupta, Quamrul Hassan, Adinath Mukhopadhaya and Safiuddin Ahmed. Its
introduction was written by Sarojini Naidu and its preface by Bishnu Dy. The cover
illustration was done by Jamini Roy. This album included two brush-and-ink drawings
by Zainul, a lithograph by Quamrul Hassan of a scene of a village destroyed by a
storm and Safiuddin’s wood engraving, Grihabhimukhi which shows the cowherds
returning home with buffaloes over the uneven land of Bengal’s Radha region through
a row of taal (palm) trees. As a result of their education in England, Mukul Chandra
and Ramendranath had learned white line wood engraving in the tradition of Bewick.
It was before their joining the Art School that wood engraving was taught there in this
tradition which depended on fine white lines and light and shade. In the Bengal
Painters’ Testimony album there were also printed wood engravings by Muralidhar
Tali, Adinath Mukhopadhaya, Satyendranath Ghoshal and woodcuts by the teacher
Ramendranath Chakravorty. There was also Sudhir Khastagir’s linocut. Adinath and
Satyendranath’s engaravings in black and white were as photographic as possible with
cast shadows. In comparison the treatment in the print by Safiuddin was completely
different. He looked at the herd of buffaloes, the young cowherd, taal trees, etc. in
silhouette and executed the forms of the beautiful clouds in the sky in a variety of
linear incisions. His treatment of the foreground is extraordinary as he threw points of
light on the ends of the remainder of harvested paddy in the field (fig. 8.17).
Muralidhar, Adinath and Satyendranath’s prints merely described a visual experience.
Whereas Safiuddin produced a romantic atmosphere in his pictures, in which the
buffaloes return home at the end of the day by the motionless row of taal trees, the
tension of the opposition between the still and the dynamic can be felt. Time can be
marked in this print. The still line of the horizon, the still row of trees in opposition to
the moving clouds and buffaloes give a sensation of the flow of movement. Although
he took the theme of this print from visual experience yet instead of imitating as
accurately as possible in the tradition of Bewick, he raised it above the mere narration
of information through his own perceptions and variation in the etching. This is where
we can distinguish his originality.
In this print done in 1944, in his other prints and paintings done until 1946, we notice
two clear exceptions. Firstly, though he had been born and brought up in the city
Safiuddin selected as the setting of his pictures particularly remote areas of Radha

328 ART AND CRAFTS


Vanga and Jharkhand, the landscape and the life of the people of that area. Surprisingly
Kolkata is absent from his pictures. Secondly, though his paintings and prints emerged
from directly visual perception, they are not merely lifeless descriptions. As for
instance in the oil paintings Sunlit Hut, Dumka-1, Dumka-2, and Dumka Shal Forest
(fig. 8.18) done in1946 the treatment is not smooth and finished in the Victorian
academic method, he applied the pigments in strokes like the impressionists; he did not
create sfumato by mixing paints. As a result, the colors appear vigorous and fresh; in
the light and shade of the picture one can actually feel the visual sensations produced
by vibration. In the portrait of his fellow student Dilip Dasgupta which he did in that
same year, the paint has been applied in impasto like the French, the colors have not
been blended into light and shade. In the wood engraving On the Way to the Fair, in
the drypoint View from Santiniketan, we can see the skilful handling of the medium, as
we also discover the time marked out in light and shade.
It is needless to say that his pictures create their own story. This story is the story of
life of the people where there is an endless mobility in the sensations of light, shade,
sunshine and motion. Movement has become one of the prime qualities of his pictures.
Here lies his distinction.
After partition all the Muslim professors of the Government Art School of Kolkata
fig. 8.18 Dumka Shal came to East Pakistan. Among them were Zainul Abedin, Safiuddin Ahmed, Anwarul
Forest, oil, 1946 Huq, Shafiqul Amin, Ali Ahsan and Habibur Rahman. Upto this point Safiuddin’s
sphere of acquaintance had been from Kolkata to
Dumka. He was not acquainted with the land of East
Pakistan or Bangladesh. Coming to Dhaka he was
actually faced by a completely new situation. In the
flowers of his Still Life painted in oil colors in 1947
we notice the same partiality for the impasto method
which can be noticed in his oil paintings even today.
In Threshing Paddy of ’52 the bodies of the three
thin men, who we see threshing paddy are quite
noticeably Bengali (fig. 8.19). While living in
Kolkata, the life of the people depicted in his
pictures is the life of the indigenous Santals. But
after coming to East Pakistan the look, posture and
the environment of the people in his pictures
changed. Empty Basket, Lemonade Stand (pl. 8.15)
painted in oil colors in 1954 are quite perceivably
pictures of East Bengal. The two paintings Fishing
and Carpenter (fig. 8.20) done between 1954-56
deserve special mention for two reasons. In these
two paintings in oil colors we notice that he has tried
to experiment with shapes more than in his

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 329


landscapes which are composed with the
combination of light and shade. The color
of these two paintings are strongly flat, the
edges or contours of the forms are marked
by lines, in executing the forms subjective
exaggeration has been resorted to rather
than attempting to remain faithful to
reality. In other words, the artist tried to
pictorially reconstruct the visual world in
his own way. As a result, from the very
beginning he abandoned light and shade,
which is an inseparable part of the
academic tradition. From this period his
pictures gradually start to move towards
abstraction. In 1958 he completed the
Diploma Course in printmaking from the
Central School of Arts and Crafts of
London with distinction. From 1956 to
1974 he visited different galleries of
England, France, Italy, Germany,
Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Soviet Union and India. From this variety of fig. 8.19 Threshing
experiences his pictures also began to change. For instance in A Book Stall in Paris Paddy, oil, 1952
painted in oil colors in 1960 we see the visual world has been transformed totally to a
geometric design of flat colors (pl. 8.17). Instead of details the design and composition
of colors integral to the scene have emerged on the ground of his picture. Even after
coming to East Pakistan nostalgic Safiuddin produced the romantic picture entitled By
Mayurakshi’s Side. Gradually in A Book Stall in Paris instead of romantic emotion
there appears compositions in pure colors and forms, the inspiration behind which is
the geometric pattern inherent to the book store. Stylistic changes are noticeable in his
drawings between the end of the ’50s to the end of the ’60s. It was probably the
Language Movement of ’52 which prepared the ground for the change. The people of
East Pakistan, the present Bangladesh, start to appear in the drawings of this period.
Boats and water borne life make their appearance. Safiuddin the man from dry lands
was faced with floods for the first time after coming to East Pakistan. For the first time
in his life he observed how the flood water entered the houses, how it submerged
dwellings and each and everything in a great deluge, and how like Noah the people of
the whole country floated on the vast expanse of water which extended to the horizon.
The impressions of this new experience started to show themselves in his prints. In the
intaglio prints Flood, The Bridge Across (fig. 8.22), Fishing Time, Composition, The
Receding Flood etc. he started to give expression to the experience of flood. The
romantic environment and the artistic beauty of fine engraving that we see in the

330 ART AND CRAFTS


different scenes of Radha Banga and Jharkhand are completely different from the
prints of this period. The first thing that catches the eye is the use of color in these
intaglio prints. Although his fellow student Harendranarayan did colored woodcut and
engraving (fig. 1.15), Safiuddin had been in favor of wood engraving and metal
engraving in black-and-white. The interplay of light and shade received more
importance than colors in his pictures of that period. In these metal engravings
emerging from the experience of coming face to face with the flood in East Pakistan
we saw variety in method and also a wonderful array of colors. The combinations of
colors like different shades of grey, blue and orange with deep black, etc. have
occurred in these pictures like musical expression. In the previously mentioned
pictures along with Blue Water, The Angry Fish, The Fishing Net (pl. 8.16) the water,
the flow of water, trees, waves, boats, etc. combine to create on the canvas a visual
tension of curved rhythms. In the words of Safiuddin, sitting indoors on the bed he
observed how the water was gradually entering his house. It was not only water that
was coming inside, with the water there had entered a variety of aquatic life, various
kinds of insects, fishes and aquatic plants. The water not only entered his house, the
water had entered his being. It seemed to him that he too was afloat in that spread of
primitive water. This sense of being afloat is symbolized in the form of the curved,
forceful whirling movement of these prints. According to the theory of Mathematics
and Physics even in the apparent inequality of structure of masses there is a kind of
self-repetitive similarity, this is called fractals. These repeated units or fractions
preserve the equality of rhythm in material forms. In Safiuddin’s prints of this period
fractals or rhythm of fractions is curvy-linearity. It is to be noticed that this continuous
rhythmic state has created dynamic movement in these prints. This is because the
curved line forms tangents at every point and causes change in movement. In his
earlier prints of Radha Vanga and Jharkhand we notice his interest in movement in the
tension between the stable and dynamic. That very movement has been transformed
into continuous curvilinearity in these new pictures. In his new pictures the eye does
not rest anywhere. The powerful broad and fine lines do not allow the vision to rest at
any place and the eye is forced to roam throughout the whole picture plane. In
Mathematics and Physics there is also the theory of the basin of attraction. As all rivers
fig. 8.20 Carpenter, oil, and tributaries seek an estuary, so each series of lines themselves tend to move towards
1956 a meeting point or estuary. We notice this phenomenon in Giotto’s paintings as also in
Rubens’ paintings; we can observe this
in any good picture, where the sight
seeks to reach a central point of the
picture. In Safiuddin’s The Bridge
Across the viewer will notice a few
men crossing a bridge and each and
every line arranged on the canvas is
pointing towards that centripetal point

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 331


(fig. 8.22). In a centripetal rhythm each line is attracting
the sight towards the act of crossing. In the print Fishing
Time too we notice that it is towards the fisherman
pulling at his net that every rhythmical line has its centre
of movement. Thus, in these flood inspired pictures by
Safiuddin we not only see the character of the flood in
the curved rhythm, we also notice that each and every
one of his lines and forms is set with such mathematical
precision that the viewer’s sight cannot escape from the
picture plane. As for instance, when building a house on
a piece of land measuring two Kathas, one has to plan in
perfect proportion, similarly in the plane of a picture one
has to execute the picture by considering the
composition of forms so that the pictorial plane gives the
viewer a sense of perfection. It is needless to say that in
his prints of this period we notice this sense of perfection
of composition. Good pictures are complete and
harmonious like mathematical entities, in which there is
no sense of insufficiency. There is no hard and fast rule relating to this balance or fig. 8.21 Drawing-11,
symmetry. In pictures this symmetry depends on the balanced distribution of form, charcoal and crayon,
line and color. In the past this symmetry was produced in European pictorial art by 1972
following the mirror reflection or the reflection of things seen in the mirror. In the
Florentine Madonna by Raphael the mother sits in the centre like the axis and two
infants and the trees have been symmetrically placed at her two sides in such a way
that it seems that one side is vertically the reflection of the other. Again, in
Michelangelo’s picture The Birth of Adam we notice the tension caused by the
opposition between the unmoving Adam lying on the ground and the dynamism of
God soaring in the air. Adam’s look is directed towards God, God’s towards Adam,
they are face to face; which means that the sight of the viewer follow the look of the
two and reaches the emptiness of the small but eternal distance between the extended
arms of the two figures. It is the empty space between the fingers of the two which is
the basin of attraction of this picture and it is here that this picture is complete in itself
like mathematics. Artists in the modern age do not adopt that simple, easy to execute
plan for achieving mirror-like symmetry by balancing the picture evenly on both sides
as we see in the pictures of mediaeval Europe. It is in asymmetry that they search for
balance and perfect measure. The basin of attraction of their pictures is not located in
the absolute centre of their ground like we see in Raphael’s paintings and can notice
in Van Eyck’s painting of the Arnolfini couple, in Safiuddin’s Fishing Time the basin
of attraction is at one side of the canvas and in The Bridge Across the basin of
attraction is not centrally located. It is at a distance from the centre, in the Fishing
Time it is at one side of the canvas and the central point of The Bridge Across is on the

332 ART AND CRAFTS


upper part of the picture plane. The balance or harmony of this
picture is to be seen bearing in mind the formula of fulcrum
balance or supportive attraction in the science of force or
mechanics which explains the balance of mass or weight in the
same played by children in the up and down movement of the see-
saw. Instead of achieving two-sided balance using a simple plan
like in older days, the bringing of balance in the picture through
this supportive attraction is one of the prime characteristics
modern pictures. For this reason Safiuddin’s pictures cannot be
considered for their subject matter alone. Of course, the root
inspiration of these pictures is the directly known and felt
material world. The different bits of information originating from
the material world have been assimilated by his senses and
arranged on the canvas according to the logic of composition. In
these pictures he has transformed the truth of information into
pictorial truth. This is what happens in pictures. Bangladesh is
riverine and green with an abundance of crops. Radha Vanga and
Jharkhand are rough, drought affected areas. The nature of the
land of these two areas is different, the vegetation is different.
Quite naturally in Safiuddin’s earlier pictures the taal and shal
were the only trees present. Both of these trees are trees of
fig. 8.22 The Bridge drought affected lands. In those pictures the postures of the Santals were different.
Across, etching aquatint, From the mid-’50s the common people of Bengal began to show themselves in
1959
Safiuddin’s drawings. In the figures in Fishing, Carpenter, and Threshing Paddy – the
drawing of the bodies that have appeared have distinctively Bengali characteristics in
their gestures. In this context his drawing [Drawing-11] (fig. 8.21) and the oil painting
both named Watery Grave needs to be mentioned. Turner and Constable saw water as
being one of the elements in the scheme of the five vital elements. In both of their
paintings water has been symbolized as a primary physical element. The water in
Turner’s pictures hints at the fact that the conquering of the world by the English as
a great power would be by the water route and his pictures also hint that the sun of
the English conquest would set in the horizon beyond the water. In Constable’s
pictures the reflection of the sky falls on water. The world of his pictures comprises
of water, land and the sky. It is within these that people move about. In Safiuddin’s
pictures the everyday habitation of the Bangladeshis is on the water. When in the
deluge of water the earth returns to the primary form of Noah’s world, it is then that
water extends throughout the world and wipes out the existence of land. That is
when burial in water is inevitable. In an oblique manner it seems that the Behula
myth returns in this picture. In an unequal struggle against death refusing to admit
defeat Behula floats on a raft with her husband Laxminder’s corpse. Boarding the
raft she goes to the heavenly world. By entertaining the gods in the heavenly world

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 333


through her singing and dancing she makes Laxminder return to life. The other
name of water is life.
It is through death that generations of men achieve rebirth. Life originates from water.
These pictures by Safiuddin each create a text, the reading of which takes us in
different directions. In his works of this period the shape of the boat shows itself in
curved rhythms of the two opposites of the convex-concave. This shape of the boat
constructed from the convex-concave shows itself in his pictures of a later period as
the symbol of the eye and as the symbol of the fish. The boat, the eye and fish are the
combination of the formally opposed convex-concave and also the formally
transformed shape of each other. This barley corn form has been called “mandorla” in
Italian. This mandorla can be seen in pre-renaissance pictures and reliefs as a halo
around the form of Jesus Christ. This halo-like mandorla is a sacred symbol. In
Safiuddin’s pictures the mandorla-like convex-concave form however hasn’t come
with any religious connotations – it has appeared from the structure of the boat-eye-
fish, through a natural process. He did not get this form from outside; he got this form
from direct experience. What first appeared in his pictures in the forms of the boat and
fish, in the context of the Language Movement and the Liberation Movement this
image became the eye. It is a sensitive eye.
In Safiuddin’s pictures of subsequent periods we observe him ascending towards new
developments. The continuous curved rhythm that can be seen in his engraving Towing
Rope done in 1958 (fig. 8.23), the same rhythmic pattern can be noticed in a different
variation in The Language Movement of 1987 and In Memory of ’71 of 1988. It is as if
the lines of the picture Towing Rope has captured the mood of the rain and storm of
Bangladesh. The calmness of daily living that can be seen in the pictures of Radha
Banga and Jharkhand, is the very opposite of the use of lines in Towing Rope. Similarly
in the pictures The Language Movement and In Memory of ’71 we see the form of the
eye and the rhythm of innumerable semi-circular convex-concave forms (pl. 3.1). In
the picture The Language Movement the viewer can at his right see the hint of a face.
In both the pictures the eye is the symbol of wakefulness, consciousness and sensation.
Particularly the print named In Memory of ’71 is dominated by teardrops. Both the
prints are in monochrome. The colorlessness of memory and pain has been expressed
by this. Pain is devoid of color. For this reason these two prints display no colors.
In Safiuddin’s oil paintings we also notice the diversity of his style. It was already
observed in A Book Stall in Paris, how he organized visual information into pictorial
composition. In the Lemonade Stand-2 of 1988 the vertical movement in the colored
bottles of sherbet and the horizontal movement in the slats of the wooden floor of the
shop have created the repetition of opposing movements. This opposing movement
has been strengthened by the vertically opposite use of red and green colors. Also, in
the picture The Sun, Tree and Girl of 1989 it is the vertical movement of the tree and
the standing woman that has found expression on the canvas (pl. 8.18). The two
colors, green and blue, have appeared with symbolic meaning in the picture. The
figurative expression of ever green life, youth and fertility has been captured in these
colors with the calmness of blue. In between the two, the warm touch of the color

334 ART AND CRAFTS


purple has also created a contrast. Red
and Green of 1994, Fish and Net of
1996, Blue Water, The Sound of Blue-1
of 2000, and The Melody of Nature-2
of 2001 point to just this inevitable
movement taking him forwards, the
upward climb to a newer stage which
perhaps the artist necessarily has to
reach. The higher level where the
context and the subject begin to fall
away, loose, unrequired elements fall
off and decrease withering away and in
the end it is just the essence of
experience which becomes the
composition of abstract forms and
colors spread out on the canvas.
Rabindranath had said something like
this about his songs, that all inspiration
looked towards the distant. It cannot be
foretold where the song may go in the
fig. 8.23 Towing Rope, end, after it is born from an insignificant incident. When the song finds its full form
engraving, 1958 its context becomes secondary in importance. As in Safiuddin’s The Melody of Nature-
1 the forest and the illuminated sky cannot be identified separately. They can be seen
as an independent design or composition of balanced colors and shapes. The
inspiration of the picture Sound of Blue-1 is flood water, and the flow of various life
forms spread in layers on and inside the water. But when the artist executed this
picture based on that experience, it did not become mere information or reporting – it
became an independent picture free of its ties with the context and the obligation to
preserve resemblance. At the level which the picture finally reaches, the question of
judging it by checking it against its inspiration does not arise. That restless life in the
flood water was agitated, always changing water from that particular had receded long
ago. His house in Swamibag had been flooded again. Sitting on the floating bed in his
house it seemed to him that he was afloat on Noah’s ark. The whole of life was just
this going and coming back, and again and again at the end of the flood the
rediscovery of the touch of land. But in a picture a feeling, an experience, a sensation
of seeing something in particular, stands still on the ground of eternity. Nature changes
with the passage of every smallest of moments, but a picture keeps a particular block
of time unmoving and still for eternity, a particular experience of an individual. Nature
is ever changing, a picture is still. But the thoughts of an artist are not unchanging. The
artist’s mind never remains stationary or at rest at any point. After finishing a picture,
in the next picture the artist crosses the previous moment just like taking another
footstep. So, although in the picture each moment stands still for eternity, the artist

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 335


however advances forward producing one picture after another. Like in Safiuddin’s
wood engraving named Santal Woman of 1946, the girl who is filling water is going
on filling water forever and the girl standing by her side has also been standing like
that for the past 60 years and she will remain like that forever. And we, the viewers,
will see that the Safiuddin of 1946 in that picture, is no longer working in the style or
is in that same place in the Sound of Blue-2 of 2002 (pl. 8.19). He has advanced
forward. But the position of the picture of 2006 has changed from the position of the
picture of 1946. For, stylistically he has moved far away. To know exactly where he
has gone one has to place side by side and examine his prints, oil paintings, drawings,
etc. done in 1943, 1944 and 1945. He has gone from the romantic, orderly
arrangement of visual information to the unworldly sphere of the transformation of the
visual world into concept. It is ‘unworldly’ in the sense that it has transcended
everyday worldly consciousness. In the process of creating art works the social world
is the first to strike the artist’s mental world. The day to day events happening in the
social world creates many different moods in the artist’s mind. For instance, Safiuddin
first experienced floods in Dhaka. On a particular date, at one point of time, the flood
water entered his room in the natural, worldly process, which after creating the feeling
of amazement in his mental world, in the end gave way to its expression in the
language of color and line. This is when this language of color and line crossed the
stage of popular communication because what he created in his picture does not have
any similarity with the worldly or the everyday. It gave form to a pictorial world never
seen before, that which was not there in the everyday world. The amazing quality of
the pictorial world is that, the pictorial world does not compete with the material world
and creates a new world of its own. In his oil paintings done from the end of the
twentieth century till after crossing the threshold of the twentieth century, we notice
his progression towards something higher. Although his painting Sound of Blue-2 of
2002 has its origins in his experience, it has achieved the autonomy of pictorial truth
independent of material reality. In the wood engraving Santal Woman of 1946 we see
a romantic reflection of what is seen directly, where woman, tree, water, shadows
flowing on the water, etc. can be seen compared with the similarity to familiar forms.
In that picture he communicates directly to the viewers the pleasure of visual
perception. But in the painting Sound of Blue-2 we notice a pure composition of colors
and forms which has its origin in visual experience. This composition is no longer
dependent on similarity, this pure composition is free from any outward relation, it is
independent. The role of the artist in Santal Woman is that of the story-teller who in
his descriptions faithfully delivers an account of all the details, with a report on light
and shade. But in Sound of Blue-2 he is a creator of forms independent of material
reality. Supporting himself on material reality he has reached an essence which is
completely independent. Right from the beginning his oil colors are heavy, weighty
and strongly opaque. In his latest paintings this same opacity of colors is present. If
we view the painting Blind Girl and Dead Bird based on its name, we will be faced
by a riddle. A blind girl and a dead bird are merely some information about this

336 ART AND CRAFTS


picture, like the different objects had been in analytical cubism. Similarly he has taken
these informations and has given expression in this picture to a pure composition of
flat colors. Red and Green of 1994, Fish and Net of 1996 too are pure compositions
of flat colors independent of material reality. The Sound of Water, an engraving done
in 1985 perhaps indicates the final stage of his prints (pl. 8.20). He has made an
amazingly diverse application of drawing in it. It depicts life in the water, with
bubbles, whirls, fishes, different insects in it all seems to be busy making noises. From
both the aspects of its subject and form, this print is distinctive. Though the separate
parts of images in this picture appear at first glance to be disconnected to one another,
there is in them a continuity of a spherical-curving rhythm. The unevenness and
surface quality or texture of this print when viewed directly, is uniquely enjoyable.
This effect cannot be reproduced in a printed book.
As an artist Safiuddin is contemporary to the ‘Calcutta Group.’Although the Calcutta
Group made its appearance in 1943 as an organization of young modern artists, quite
a few talented young men of that time remained outside this group. Among them were
Zainul Abedin, Chittaprasad and Safiuddin. Chittaprasad was directly involved with
the communist movement. Safiuddin was associated with the Student’s Federation.
Zainul Abedin was not member of any party or political movement. We can view the
composition of their entire lives by placing them on the ground of space-time and the
context of world art. The two of them belonged nearly to the same period. However,
the main medium of Zainul was painting – though Safiuddin’s main medium was
printmaking, he was equally skilled in oil painting. When Safiuddin made his
appearance in the mid ’40s, Abanindranath Tagore had just put the brush down from
his hand and for the remaining few years of his life playfully made ‘Kutum Katam,’
or assemblages from found objects creating sculpture-like forms. At the beginning of
the ’30s, Abanindranath painted the Arabian Nights series. This series is the last one
in his fine aesthetic romantic style. In 1939 in the background of the Second World
War he took his brush in hand, his fine, soft style was transformed. He started to draw
the pictures of the Krishnamangal series where he painted the killing of seventeen
asuras or demons by the child Krishna. In the context of the Second World War this
painting of the slaughter of asuras was symbolic. Though he lived for ten more years,
from 1941 to 1951 he never painted again. It can almost be said that right after he put
down his brush, the Bengal School reached its end. Meanwhile, the tree of the Bengal
School that Nandalal had planted in Santiniketan, surpassed the Bengal School of
Kolkata due to the richness of the soil.
It is difficult to find signs of inspiration from Abanindranath in Ramkinkar and Binode
Behari Mukherjee’s paintings and even in the paintings of Nandalal himself done in
brushstrokes. At the same time Jamini Prakash Gangooly, Hemendranath Majumdar
and Atul Chandra Bose had built up a tradition of oil paintings depicting the visible
world which centered around the Calcutta Art School. The Government Art School of
Kolkata was the main fortress of that conservatism. Zainul escaped from that fort.

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 337


Safiuddin was able to free himself of it. The ideals of the young Turks of the ‘Calcutta
Group’ were a few branded, outdated European movements from Impressionism to
Expressionism. Though the artists of this group were very verbal on the theme of
idealism and progressiveness, in their quest for modernism they thought of London
and Paris as the final word in modernism. No one of that group was aware of the fact
that by then postmodernism had already started in Europe and America. The irony of
fate was that, at the time when the member artists of the Calcutta Group were
pronouncing the oft-repeated catchwords of modernism of the Paris-London brand, by
then that form of modernism had been superceded by the theory of postmodernism
which had already been formulated. Zainul and Safiuddin had never directly tried to
harmonize with any European system of arguments or theory in composing their
artworks. Though Safiuddin believed in progressive political movements he never
accepted Paris or London to stand for progress. This is where his personality is
individual and strong. Although later in his life he saw European art directly, yet no
European art movement overwhelmed him. He took lessons for his pictures directly
from nature. Although the Bengal School and the Victorian ‘Academic Art’ of the Art
School of Kolkata was very influential in his time, it could not influence him. Even
though Safiuddin had practiced the displines of pictorial art in the conservative
manner of the Government Art School, his creative life did not become enclosed in
any outer bondage. Those who went from Kolkata to the former East Pakistan or
present-day Bangladesh not only founded a new art educational institute in Dhaka,
they also gave an identity to the art of Bangladesh. Bangladesh would not have found
the place it presently occupies in the map of world art without their energetic efforts.
On top of all that, as teachers they have trained generation after generation of students
which has established the continuation of art practice in the country. It is to
Safiuddin’s credit that, he assisted his students to advance as he himself advanced
along the path of artistic activity. Furthermore, he must of course be remembered in
history as an initiating force who gave the art of Bangladesh its national identity.
All the artists, who came to the former East Pakistan or present day Bangladesh from
India, practiced figurative art. At a later period a few artists of Bangladesh of a
particular generation quite consciously inclined towards complete abstraction in
artistic forms. They returned again to figurative art. The pictures of Safiuddin’s latest
stage – from the nineties to the period after the year 2000 make it clear to us that in
the natural process of abstraction, art on its own volition moves towards the essence
or the inner substance. Arriving at this substance or the world of perceptions from the
material world is the objective of artistic quest.






Translated by Kamaluddin Md. Kaiser, writer, Dhaka

338 ART AND CRAFTS





d. S.M. Sultan (1923-1994)
Shawon Akand


1
Sultan was born on 10 August 1923 in the village of Machhimdia of Narail, situated
on the bank of the river Chitra. He lost his mother in his childhood. His father Sheikh
Mechher Ali was a construction worker. It is known that the designs and the art works
on the walls of the residence of the zamindar of Narail were created by Sultan’s father.
For this reason, Sultan liked to consider his father as an architect. We can assume that
this aspect of Sultan’s father enticed him to the world of painting.
Sultan started painting from his very childhood. For about five years from 1928 to
1933, he studied in a local primary school. His talent as a painter was first recognized
at the early age of ten in his classroom when he made a pencil sketch of the school
inspector, Dr. Shayamaprashad Mukherjee. Even before this, he attracted the attention
of Dhirendranath Ray, zamindar of Narail, by drawing an exact imitation of a marble
statue he got from abroad. It was because of the inspiration and cooperation of
Dhirendranath Ray that Sultan went to Kolkata in 1938 to fulfill his dream of
becoming a painter. In Kolkata Sultan took shelter at the residence of Satyen Ray,
another shareholder of the zamindar of Narail. There Sultan started learning painting
from Satyen Ray’s son Arun Ray, a student of Art School. After about three years, in
1941, he took part in the admission test of the Government Art School and stood first
in the test. Although he stood first, he did not have the minimum qualification of
Entrance Certificate to study in the Art School. However, he finally got the chance to
study in the Art School with the recommendations of the noted art critique Shahed
Suhrawardy. Till then his name was Lal Mia.
During the period of 1941 to 1944 Sultan took lessons in art at the Calcutta
fig. 8.24
Sheikh Mohammad Sultan Government Art School. During this period he got shelter and great patronization from
the family of Shahed Suhrawardy. In Art School, he secured second
place in the first year and secured first place in the second and third
years. However, he never really liked institution based regulated life.
As a result, ignoring everything, the patronization of the Suhrawardy
family, academic education and certificate, he set off on a tour of
India in 1944. Before this, Sultan joined the Khaksar movement in
1943. Members of the Khaksar movement did many social services,
such as taking care of patients, cremation of dead bodies, cleaning
drains, digging etc. Sultan visited different places with them. At the
beginning of his Bohemian lifestyle in 1944, Sultan reached Simla
via Agra, Delhi and Lukhnow. There, he started living with a group

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 339


of tribal people. He was greatly attracted by their industrious life and the natural
beauty of Kashmir. He started painting these people. In Kashmir he attracted the
attention of a Canadian woman named Mrs. Hurdson. It was due to her initiative that
Sultan had his first exhibition in Simla in 1946. During the partition of India in 1947,
Sultan came to Lahore. There, he became closely associated with Abdur Rahaman
Chughtai, Nagi, Shaker Ali, Sheikh Ahmed, Sadequain and others. He had painting
exhibitions in Lahore and Karachi in 1948 and 1949.
Sultan visited America in 1950 as a representative of Pakistan under an education
exchange programme. Thirteen solo exhibitions of Sultan were held in America
including the Institute of International Education (New York), Boston, Washington
D.C, Chicago, Michigan University. In the same year Sultan secured first position in
a drawing competition held at the Brooklyn Institute of Art under the New York
Exchange Programme where artists from 45 countries participated. He came to
London from USA. There in Leister Gallery his paintings were exhibited in a group
exhibition along with world famous artists such as Pablo Picasso (1881-1973),
George Braque (1882-1963), Henri Matisse (1889-1954), Salvador Dali (1904-
1989). It is heard that Sultan is the first artist from Asia to achieve this rare honour.
Having visited Europe and America he came to Karachi first and then to Dhaka.
However, he could not settle down. In 1953, he returned to Narail, to his roots. Thus,
a new chapter of his life began.
After he returned to his own village in Narail, for a long period of about twenty two
years from 1954 to 1975 he almost hardly painted. During this period, he became
attracted to spiritualism. He developed cordial relationships with the local Nama
Shudra (lower caste Hindus) and his addiction to narcotics continued. He roamed
around the south-western part of Bengal along with Kirtania groups or dressed as
Radha. Many tales, myths and legends about the long haired Sultan with flute in
hands, wearing sari-bangle-anklet with bells spread through Jessore, Khulna and
Kushtia areas. Eventually, he became a living legend.
It is not quite true that during this period (1953 to 1975), Sultan was totally separated
from painting. During 1953 to 1954, his art works were exhibited, though in small
scale, at the Narail Victoria College. 124 In 1956-57, inspired by poet Jasimuddin and
with the patronization of Afzal Karim, Sultan did a number of paintings in Dhaka.
Even in 1969, an exhibition of his paintings was arranged at Khulna Club. 125
In 1974 Sultan painted a mural for a 90 foot high tower on the occasion of an
exhibition of agriculture, education, industry and culture in Narail. But it was through
the first National Fine Arts Exhibition organised by the Bangladesh Shilpakala
Academy in 1975 that S. M. Sultan appeared as an artist in the elite society of Dhaka.
Next year, in 1976, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy organised a solo painting
exhibition of Sultan. Through this exhibition Sultan, for the first time, was introduced
and discussed as an artist by the people of this country.
Another notable exhibition of Sultan was held in 1987 at the Goethe Institute (German
Cultural Centre) in Dhaka. His last exhibition was held at the Gallery Tone in 1994.

340 ART AND CRAFTS


Meanwhile, in 1982, he was awarded the Ekushey Padak by the Government of
Bangladesh. In the same year, the Biographical Centre of Cambridge University
awarded him the distinction of ‘Man of Achievement.’ From 1984 the Government of
Bangladesh honored him with the rare tribute of `Resident Artist’. He was honored by
the Bangladesh Charushilpi Samsad in 1986. Sultan was awarded the Swadhinata
Padak (Liberation Award) in 1993.
This great artist died at the Jessore Cantonment Combined Medical Hospital on 10
October 1994.
2
We can divide the art works of Sultan’s entire life into two parts for the convenience
of discussion although there is an inseparable connection between these two parts. We
may include his art works of the 40s and the 50s in the first part and the art works of
post-liberation Bangladesh of the 70s as the second part. But the problem is, we do not
have enough documentation or original paintings to assert as to the type of art works
he produced during the 40s and the 50s. We have no other alternative than to depend
on a few articles of the then art critics, a few reproductions in books and newspapers
and interviews of the artist himself. To understand the matter a quote from a passage
of S. Amjad Ali’s published in the Pakistan Quarterly in 1952 follows: ‘Sultan has no
art works in his collection since he sells all his paintings. This is why it is not possible
for me to know what he had painted before Pakistan was born. However this much is
known that he had painted a lot and the subject matter of it was life.’ 126 [Trans.]
Therefore, we see that Sultan’s earlier works became rare even in 1952. However, in
this case we can get some idea from the artist’s own statements. He states about the
first solo exhibition at Simla in 1946, “All the paintings in the exhibition were
fig. 8.25 Landscape-2, watercolors. I had not started painting in oil then.... The subject matter was mainly
oil, 1951
landscape. Landscape and working people.’ 127
About the paintings done in Lahore and
Karachi of Pakistan Sultan says, ‘I had
painted some landscapes of Kashmir from
memory, some of the paintings were
based on life in Bangladesh, the
agriculture. In addition, I did some
paintings of Bangladesh in the historical
perspective, painted the primitive life of
Bengalis as a people... I tried to bring the
Bengali people in historical sequence in
the paintings.’ 128
Furthermore, he said, ‘In those days I also
used to paint abstract and semi-abstract
pictures, but only a very few since I never
felt attracted to that trend of paintings’ 129

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 341


Some time in the 50s, four reproductions of Sultan’s landscape paintings were published in
the first edition of Art in Pakistan by Jalal Uddin Ahmed. 130 The selection and application
of thick color and the strokes of the brush of Sultan’s art works during this phase indicate,
according to art critic Nazrul Islam, the influence of the Van Gogh type of Impressionism
(fig 8.25). However, although the two works, out of the four reproductions of paintings
131
mentioned earlier, do support Nazrul Islam’s remark the other two or at least one (Autumn
in Kashmir) does not resemble Van Gogh’s style (pl. 8.21). 132 It is notable that the main
subject matter of Sultan’s works at this stage was nature; man or the figure came as
supplements of nature. However, in the works of the second part, namely of the 70s, we find
that not nature but man was prominent as the subject of Sultan’s paintings.
About the works of this period S. Amjad made an important and remarkable comment:
‘It must be noted that Sultan is not only an artist of landscapes. He has done many remarkable works on
the human figure and I have seen his dry-point sketches and large works in crayon; these works seemed
to me to be of very high standard. However, I was surprised to see two of his recent panels, which were
thickly populated by refugees, and poverty struck people. We must admire the rendition of the human
form; his compositions are also amazing. The firmness with which he has selected the line in drawing
human figures, the vastness of the entire composition, naturalness, human concern of these panels, and
sense of tragedy are to me the welcome signs of Sultans growth and maturity as an artist. I believe Sultan
has achieved success in technique and method. What he needs now is to be introduced to great concepts
and ideas as well as the rich experience of life and art. This will help him create incomparable art works.’ 133
Sultan’s works of the second phase (1975-94) has a close connection with those of the
first. The connecting link is that Sultan always tried to create life-oriented paintings.
His paintings during the 40s and the 50s are marked by the prominence of man and
nature which encompass his entire ideas of art. They are hard working laborer class
people who are directly involved in production. The dialectical relation between man
and nature is his main interest. However, in portraying this relationship we also notice
the evolution and transformation of his ideas and presentation. Though it is difficult to
say anything definite due to the lack of his actual paintings, we may presume that the
Sultan we discover (!) in the mid 70s had already germinated in the 50s. This could
not find expression due to many obstacles until the atmosphere was favourable, after
a gap of 22 years. It is difficult to believe that these artworks were possible suddenly,
without planning, without any practice. We already mentioned S. Amjad Ali’s
comment on the topic. To quote from the memoirs of the sculptor Mahbub Jamal
Shamim, a direct disciple of Sultan:
‘He [Sultan] did a lot of paintings in 1973. This was the formative period of his creative magnitude and
finest expression – the works in pen and ink wash left in the folio on the table were transformed into the
best paintings of his life painted for his solo exhibition organized by Shilpakala Academy. I remember
how Sultan would be quietly busy with his work and speak to himself addressing Zainul, ‘Zainul you
have given a sick and suffering image of my people. I shall give them muscles, wealth and power. 134
To understand the muscular, struggling male figures and softly-strong female figures
of Sultan we have to take note of some important events of Sultan’s life. Firstly, the
opportunity of getting admission to the Calcutta Government Art School, where he
was doing fine, helped him learn the rules of the British academic style of painting.
Secondly, during this period Shahed Suhrawardy’s huge library was open to him.

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Probably, this is the origin from which the philosophical and theoretical foundation of
the artworks of his later life developed. Undoubtedly, he learnt a lot more from his
extensive experience in life. Thirdly, as Sultan himself admitted, his visit to many
museums and art galleries in Europe and America and his dialogues with artists gave
maturity to his thoughts on art. 135
Even his return to Narail when he was becoming a well known artist in the
international arena was not an impetuous or sudden decision. Sultan himself admitted,
‘I returned after giving it thought. I always thought that I would come back. I never
wanted to stay there. I never considered it to be my work-place.’ 136
Ignoring the enticement of wealth, fame and the attraction of good living, Sultan’s
return to Narail was an astounding event. Thus, he returned to his roots and refused
western modernism. He gathered materials from the every-day life-experience of
rural Bengal and created art works. In the history of fine arts in Bangladesh, in terms
of art and life style, we do not find a second example like this. The voice of the
common people and their lives were depicted in the canvas and paper of many other
artists. As examples, Quamrul Hassan and Zainul Abedin may be named. However,
Sultan is important because of the specialty and the distinction he has given to the
most ordinary working people of rural Bengal by painting them and that is
unprecedented. This is why perhaps National Professor Abdur Razzaque wrote, ‘The
art of Jasimuddin, Zainul Abedin, S. M. Sultan truly belong to Bangladesh; their art
works are nourished by the air and water of Bangladesh. It is doubtful, whether one
could give the same color or the same feelings to the crops by cultivating them on
any other soil ... those we see in Sultan’s paintings are the common people of
Bangladesh. The main characteristics of Sultan’s painting lies in expressing the
ordinary people as extraordinary. 137
Though Sultan selected the common people of traditional Bengal as the subject matter
of his paintings, in terms of style he cannot be said to be close to folk art. Rather his
paintings feel like an artist from the Renaissance period has portrayed the common
working people of rural Bengal. The male figures are vigorous in the style of western
art although Sultan’s well-built and beautiful women remind us of Ajanta-Ellora or the
pata paintings of Kalighat (fig. 8.25, pl. 8.22). Yet they are all Sultan’s ‘people’ who
are ever active, struggling and sometimes pensive. Sultan himself said, ‘One may find
the influence of Michelangelo or Vinci in my work but my intention is different. The
theme of my painting is different.’ 138
The theme of Sultan’s paintings are the ordinary working people of rural Bengal and
their lives. The philosophical thinking of Sultan in selecting subjects of his painting is
to be found in his own words:
‘The theme of my paintings is the symbol of energy. This muscle, it is used in battle, battle with the
soil. The strength of his arms drives the plough into the soil and produces crops. Labor is the basis. And
this region of ours has been dependent on the labor of the peasants for thousands of years. But these
peasants have been exploited for thousands of years... I have shown the thousand year old energy of
the peasants; I have exaggerated their inner strength. I tried to magnify the feeling of their labor.’ 139

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 343


Here lies Sultan’s originality. The main heroes of Sultan’s paintings are the people
who have fought against nature for thousands of years and grown crops, who have
kept the production processes of this country active, productive people, struggling
people. They are the true architect of the economic structure of the country. Even
though these people are now sick and ailing, unfed and leading a miserable life Sultan
in all consciousness did not paint their distressed appearances on his canvas. Rather
he has glorified the life of struggle of the people who are still the majority and who
have kept the flow of life moving in this country (pl.8.24).
The subject matters of our two major artists, Zainul and Sultan, are the same—the
struggling Bengalis. Although these two great artists have common themes, we find
subtle difference not only in their styles but also in their presentation. Zainul’s people
are struggling, but Sultan’s people are not merely struggling they have already a large
measure of control over nature. Their presence over almost the entire canvas sends the
message of inexorable conquest. Here lies Sultan’s inner glory.
As an example, one may cite his painting entitled First Plantation (pl. 8.23), painted in
1975. This is considered to be one of the best works of Sultan. In this painting we see
the presence of an aged man (Adam?) almost taking up the entire canvas. The muscles
painted with the usual exaggeration radiate strength and capability. The wrinkles on the
face bear the sign of age but the two eyes are shrouded in dreaminess and
thoughtfulness. At the back the two naked divinities signify an unworldly atmosphere.
This event of the first plantation hints at the origin of civilization not only of
Bangladesh, but of the starting point of human civilization of the whole world.
The people of Sultan’s paintings are not only struggling with nature, but sometimes
they are vocal and struggling to establish their own rights. One may cite the examples
of his paintings entitled Char Dakhal (Grabbing of Rising Land), Krishaker Danga
(Peasants’ Rebellion)(1987), Sachal Sabak Itihas (Moving Speaking History) etc. It
should be noted here that Sultan has discarded all types of modern weapons from his
paintings. Thus, we see that the men of Sultan use the shield and spear. In Sultan’s
paintings we do not find anything which is produced by modern technology. To cite
Sultan’s own comments about modernism:
‘A village does not become modern even if all its houses are constructed with corrugated tin [iron
sheets] donated as relief. We did not produce the tin. The tin and the buildings do not belong to the
peasants. Our peasants have lived in thatched huts under coconut and dates trees, wearing the loin
cloth. The rest they have not earned, but it has been forced upon them. Thus, I never paint the rifle
or the gun. The sten gun and rifle was not manufacterd by myself, it was put into my hands. What
I did not achieve, is not mine. One cannot become modern with borrowed goods. Thus, I must paint
those date trees, thatched huts and peasants wearing loincloths. These truly represents our country,
and if it is primitive then be it so. 140
Thus, Sultan refused modernism, the glittering aristocracy of urban life, consumerism,
the rat-race for amassing wealth and the hypocrisy of the customary polish and values
of so called civilized, educated people. On the other hand, he relied on the toiling men
and women of the villages, on rural life unaffected by the curses of science and
civilization. He discovered all meaning in life in their way of life. As a result, he took

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the responsibility voluntarily upon himself to add the mantra of inspiration for the
primitive sons of the soil, the struggling people spewed from the earth living on their
labor. Sultan painted the same subjects repeatedly—the various details of rural life. In
this context one may cite his paintings entitled Fishing (1991) (fig 8.26), Rural Life
(1986), Plough (1992), Paddy Husking (1986), Village Noon (1987), Peasants
Working (1975) (fig. 8.27), Cutting Fish (1987), Harvesting Paddy (1992), Ploughing
(1987). He painted numerous paintings on the similar subjects and the same titles in
oil or watercolors.
Although Sultan had faith and commitment to rural life and its mode of agricultural
production dependant on the land, it does not seem like he was completely in accord
with it. He presented himself more as a mysterious character in the village context. As
a result, some people identified him as a saint, a madman, or a spiritual person.
Because of his unconventional life-style, many tales about his supernatural qualities
were circulated about him. Thus, some villagers would express a puzzled respect,
some would show careless annoyance, and some would even express wonder and
curiosity. But nobody could accept him completely as their own. As a result, he was
ultimately considered an outsider although he lived in the village. Thus, his
relationship with both rural and urban life was more or less dialectical. He remained
a little unaccepted in both spheres and his situation was merely marginal.
fig. 8.26 Fishing-3, oil, From this marginalized situation, Sultan tended towards a kind of idealism in creating
1991
his own art world. He built an
archetype moving away from reality.
Nevertheless, in this context, one may
question how successful he was in
portraying other subjects excepting the
human figures. For examples, Sultan’s
cows are truly Bangladeshi but their
success from the aesthetic point of view
is questionable. Even Sultan’s oft-
repeated rural background seems not to
have been given due attention. If one
takes away the human figures from his
canvas any of Sultan’s artworks loose
their importance to a great extent. In
our consideration, the main importance
and characteristic of Sultan’s works lie
in the figures of men and women; the
rest came as supplementary elements to
these figures.
Like many other great artists, lines are
particularly important to his paintings.

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 345


Primarily the lines used to delineate
the human and animal forms are
outstanding in their original qualities.
Regarding Sultan’s use of lines art
critic Abul Mansur wrote:
“These lines are broken and curved, they are
not soft and continuous. Though they were not
truly realistic, they carry the marks of
institutional training. These lines are not as
close to academic lines like those of Zainul
Abedin, they are not like the traditional courtly
lines drawn by Nandalal, not even folk-based
lines drawn by Jamini Roy or Quamrul Hassan.
Rather they may be said to be close to
something like urban ‘naïve’ art; the kind we
see in our Rikshaw paintings.” 141
Many may not agree with this
comment by Abul Mansur.
Nevertheless, none can deny the
distinctive characteristics existing in
Sultan’s lines. Moreover, Sultan’s
application of color also has noticeable
distinction and originality; these may be due to his use of indigenous color or jute as
canvas. It may be noted that during the 70s and the following phase Sultan almost did fig. 8.27 Peasants
not use thick color on his paintings. Rather he gave much more importance to lines. Working, oil, 1975
His use of lines became important not only in his paintings in oil but also in his
watercolors.
Sultan’s art works also bear distinctive characteristics in his choice of color. Many
now know that at one time Sultan experimented with herbal materials and local earth
colors. Use of self-made color in paintings definitely bears some marks of distinction
and the greatness of dedication in the process. However, the main problem is how long
they will tolerate the ravages of the weather of this land.
The most prominent color observable in Sultans’s paintings, is brown. Sultan used
brown unhesitatingly in painting human figures, ploughed land or thatched huts.
Sultan himself said, ‘I think the most dominating Bengali color is brown. Our skin
color, our houses and the color of our soil is all brown. Thus the color brown is
prominent in my paintings.’ 142 Of course, he painted nature in various bright colors.
Many are of the opinion that from the stylistic point of view and in selecting color
Sultan’s works have similarity with Van Gogh or Paul Gauguin. Some have mentioned
that in painting nature he has affinities with urban Rickshaw paintings. It is known
from Sultan’s own statement the he liked the works of Vincent Van Gogh, Claude
Monet, Jean Francoise Millet, Constable, and others. Specially, he often mentioned
Van Gogh’s painting entitled Potato Eaters. 143

346 ART AND CRAFTS


3
After Sultan came back to Narail in 1953 he made several efforts at various times to
establish institutions of fine arts, definitely in his own way. In the 50s (1954?), he took
the initiative of establishing Nandan Kanan School of Fine Arts in the village of
Chachuri Purulia. He intended young rural children to learn painting along with
regular studies. However, Sultan left the School when it became an ordinary school.
In 1969, Sultan established Kurigram School of Fine Arts in Narail town; but it did not
last for long. After the independence of Bangladesh, in 1973, he established the
Academy of Fine Arts in Jessore which is still active as Charupith. In the early 80s
(1982), he established Shishuswarga at his own home. Although Sultan had initiative
and was a visionary, it cannot be asserted that, he was successful as an organizer. This
was not possible because of his restlessness and vagabond nature. Most probably the
only plan he could hold on to for a prolonged time was that of Shishuswarga. One of
the reasons might be that since the 80s Sultan was somewhat settled in Narail. Though
he possessed a non-formal and non-institutional character, he always had the desire to
do something for the nation, for the people of the country and especially for the future
generation. It may be noted here, he also visited children’s schools besides visiting the
art museums or art galleries during his tour of America in 1950. He took various
initiatives to apply his American experience in the context of Bangladesh to do
something for the future generation.
As noted earlier, in painting, Sultan was more or less inspired by the artists of the
Renaissance or by some of the Impressionists. However, it does not seem like he was
ever influenced by any Bangladeshi or Indian artist. In fact, we do not find any artist
of the succeeding generations who was influenced by Sultan’s art or his views on art.
From ancient times our country has been dependent on agriculture and is rural in
nature. Even now, most of the people of our country have roots in the villages and are
related to agriculture. Sultan could unmistakably identify the life of the majority of the
people of this land. The consciousness that inspired him by touching the essential
roots of the people of this land is in fact the indomitable spirit of the dreams and
struggles of the Bengali’s since time immemorial - this is what made them survive in
the face of hostile nature and foreign rulers. Sultan’s main achievement lies in his
correct understanding of the existence, struggle and dreams of these apparently very
common people and potraying them in his own ‘glorified’ manner. For this reason,
although Sultan’s art works may not be considered ‘realistic’ his people, nature and
other animals do not seem unfamiliar to us. Rather they consciously or unconsciously
touch the hearts of Bengalis. Moreover, at the same time Sultan’s paintings constructs
links with the evolution of human civilization of the world.




Translated by Sarah Subha, student, Viquarunnisa Noon College, Dhaka

FIRST GENERATION ARTIST 347


Note and References
1. Abdul Matin, Zainul Abedin, (Dhaka 1978), 2.
2. Personal interview of Professor Zahurul Haque by the author, 10 July 2006 (Professor Zahurul Haque is
the younger brother of Zainul and former Professor of Philosophy Department of the Dhaka University.).
3. Op. cit., 2-3.
4. Interview of Professor Zahurul Haque, op. cit.
5. Syed Azizul Huq, ‘Zainul Abedin,’ A Saga of Man and Nature: The Art of Zainul Abedin, (Dhaka
2004), 12.
6. Interview of Professor Zahurul Haque, op. cit., but in the opinion of Abdul Matin the house of the
Akua Madrasah Quarter was built on the land owned by the father-in-law of Tamizuddin, (Abdul
Matin, op. cit., 2).
7. S. A. Huq, op. cit., 12.
8. Darji Abdul Wahab, Mymensingh Charitabhidhan, (Mymensingh 1989), 541-542. It should be
mentioned that a college was established in Kachijhuli in 1908 with the financial assistance of
Hamiduddin Ahmad, (ibid., 543).
9. ibid., 5 and various issues of the magazine Saurabh edited by Kedar Nath Majumdar published from
Mymensingh.
10. Artist Shashikumar Hesh learnt painting in Italy and Germany through the financial assistance of the
Zamindar of Mymensingh Suryakanta Acharya Chowdhury and Jahnabi Devi Chowdhurani. Besides this,
with the financial assistance of other Zamindars much development work was carried out in the field of
education and culture of Mymensingh (D. A. Wahab, op. cit., 226, 254, 255, 257, 461, 522 and 529).
11. Zahurul Haque, op. cit.
12. Loc. cit.
13. Loc. cit.
14. S. A. Huq, op. cit., 13.
15. Ibid., 8.
16. Nazrul Islam, ‘Zainul Abediner Shilpa Bhabna: Ekti Sakshatkar,’ Zainul Abedin: Tanr Kaj O Katha,
(Dhaka 2002), 27.
17. A. Matin, op. cit., 10.
18. Zahurul Haque, op. cit.
19. S. A. Huq, op. cit., 13.
20. Prashanta Kumar Bose, ‘Zainul Smriti,’ in Matlub Ali (ed.), Zainul Smriti, (Dhaka 1994), 67-68.
21. S. A. Huq has written that ‘He resided in this mess for more than half of his six year long (1932-1938)
student life. For the rest of the time, he arranged to stay in a separate rented room in Bandel Road [the
correct name is Bondel Road].’ [Trans.], op. cit., 13 and Prashanta Bose wrote, “. . . this room was
Zainul’s ‘studio.’ While passing through Bondel Road I saw Zainulda painting with full concentration
... I got acquainted with Zainulda some time between the years 1935-36.” [Trans.], Prashanta Bose,
op. cit., 67-68. It is notable that the artist Anwarul Haq had his paternal house in Bondel Road (Ibid.,
66) and Zainul would visit the house since he was a student of the third year. Zainul’s comments on
this subject, ‘When I was studying in the 3rd year, however, I began to eat at Anwar Sahib’s place’
(Nazrul Islam, op. cit., 102). Therefore it seems that from around the middle of his student life, he
lived in Bondel Road.
22. S. A. Huq, op. cit., 14. In this context the artist Kazi Abul Kasem wrote, ‘There was no dearth of skilful
patua-artists in the neighboring community of that time. But in Muslim society you hardly ever found
people of that kind. The few Muslims who wanted to paint pictures could not advance too far because
of religious prejudice and the fear of public criticism.’ (Kazi Abul Kasem, ‘Ek Swarnojjal Shilpir
Tirodhan,’ in Zainul Smriti, op. cit., 57).
23. Anisuzzaman, Muslim Manosh O Bangla Sahitya, (Calcutta 1999), 19.
24. Sovon Som, ‘Zainul Abedin,’ in Nayeem Hassan (ed.), Nirantar, Fourth Issue, (Dhaka, Srabon 1402
Bengali Year).
25. Faizul Azim, Bangladesher Shilpakalar Adiparba O Ouponibeshik Prabhab, (Dhaka 2000), 69.
26. James Wise, Purbobanger Bibhinna Jati, Barna O Peshar Bibaran, Tanslation: Fauzul Karim, (Dhaka
1998), 111.
27. Dr. Pradyat Ghosh, Banglar Lokshilpa, (Kolkata 2004), 83.