Ebullient and eccentric at the same time, barefoot painter Maqbool Fida Husain took Indian art to the global stage with his cubist-inspired modern art but was riled in controversy with his paintings on Hindu deities. Synonymous with contemporary Indian art, the painter was described as the 'Pablo Picasso' of India by Forbes magazine.
In the wake of legal challenges and death threats in his home country, Husain had been living abroad in self-imposed exile since 2006 and was offered Qatari citizenship in January 2010. His paintings fetched over $1 million at auctions around the world. Husain's Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12, fetched USD 1.6 million in 2008, setting a world record at Christie's South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale.
He made some experimental films with top Bollywood stars. Husain produced 'Gaja Gamini' with his muse actress Madhuri Dixit who was the subject of a series of his paintings. His another movie Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities, starring Tabu, Kunal Kapoor and Raghuvir Yadav courted controversy following objections raised to one of the songs in it. Husain's autobiography is being made into a movie tentatively titled The Making of the Painter, starring Shreyas Talpade as the young Husain.
Husain started his career in the mid-1940s by painting film posters but soon he was accepted by the art community in Mumbai. In 1947, he joined the Progressive Artists' Group, headed by another art legend, FN Souza. During 90's he courted controversy over his paintings of Hindu goddesses. His house was attacked there after. In 2006 a bailable warrant was issued against him for not appearing in court. Husain who was 95 breathed his last in Royal Brompton Hospital of London on Thursday night. According to his family members his last wish was to be buried whereever he dies.
National News inextlive from India News Desk
