M. F. Husain

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This article concerns M.F. Husain, the Indian artist. For the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, see Husayn bin Ali. For the late king of Jordan, see Hussein of Jordan.

A watercolour by Husain depicting an Indian woman and a European woman in a palanquin

Maqbool Fida Husain, (born September 17, 1915, Pandharpur) popularly known as M F Husain, is a well known Indian artist. After a long, successful and largely uncontroversial career, his work became enmeshed in violent religious controversy in the late 1990s, to such extent that he was forced to leave India because of threats to his life.

1 Early years
2 Later years
3 Controversy
- 3.1 Naked Mother India Painting
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Early years

Husain comes from a Muslim Indian family. His mother died when he was one and a half years old. His father remarried and moved to Indore, where Husain went to school. In 1935, he moved to Bombay and was admitted to the Sir J. J. School of Art. He started off by painting cinema hoardings. He first became well-known as an artist in the late 1940s. In 1947, he joined the Progressive Artists' Group, founded by Francis Newton Souza. This was a clique of young artists who wished to break with the nationalist traditions established by the Bengal school of art and to encourage an Indian avant-garde, engaged at an international level. In 1952, his first solo exhibition was held at Zürich and over the next few years, his work was widely seen in Europe and USA.

In 1966, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shree prize by the Government of India. He has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan. In the following year, he made his first film, Through the Eyes of a Painter. It was shown at the Berlin Film Festival and won a Golden Bear.^[1]

[edit] Later years

Husain went on to become the highest paid painter in India. His single canvases have fetched up to 2 million dollars at a recent Christie's auction. In recognition of his distinction, he was appointed to a term in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of India's parliament.

He has also worked (produced & directed) on few movies, including Gaja Gamini (with his muse Madhuri Dixit who was the subject of a series of his paintings which he signed Fida) and Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (with Tabu). His autobiography is being made into a movie tentatively titled "The Making of the Painter.", starring Shreyas Talpade as the young Husain.^[2]

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) (USA, Massachusetts) is showing a solo exhibition from 4th November 2006 to 3rd June 2007. It exhibits Husain’s paintings inspired by the Hindu epic, Mahabharata.

[edit] Controversy

In the 1990s some of Husain's works became controversial because of their portrayal of Hindu deities in the nude. The paintings in question were created in 1970, but did not become an issue until 1996, when they were printed inVichar Mimansa, a Hindi monthly magazine, which published them in an article headlined "M.F. Husain: A Painter or Butcher". In response, eight criminal complaints were filed against Husain. In 2004, Delhi High Court dismissed these complaints of "promoting enmity between different groups ... by painting Hindu goddesses — Durga and Sarswati — in an uncharitable manner hurting the sentiments of Hindus".^[3]^[4]

The controversy escalated to the extent that in 1998 Husain's house was attacked by Bajrang Dal and art works destroyed. The leadership of Shiv Sena endorsed the attack.^[5] Protests against Husain also led to the closure of an exhibition in London, England.

In response to the controversy, Husain's admirers have petitioned the government to grant Husain the Bharat Ratna, India's highest award. The petition praises Husain because his "life and work are beginning to serve as an allegory for the changing modalities of the secular in modern India — and the challenges that the narrative of the nation holds for many of us. This is the opportune and crucial time to honour him for his dedication and courage to the cultural renaissance of his beloved country."^[6]

In February 2006, Husain was arrested and charged with hurting sentiments of people because of his nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses.^[7]

[edit] Naked Mother India Painting

In February 6, 2006 issue, India Today, a national English weekly published an advertisement titled "Art For Mission Kashmir". This advertisement contains a painting of Bharatmata (Mother India) as a naked woman posed across a map of India with the names of Indian States on various parts of her body. The exhibition was organised by Nafisa Josef Ali of Action India (NGO) and Apparao Art Gallery. ^[8]

Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) and VHP has protested persistently against Husain displaying the painting on the websites and and in an exhibition. As a result, on February 7, 2006 Husain apologised and promised to withdraw the painting from an auction. ^[9]^[10]

The painting later appeared on Husain's official website.