Sadequain
Encyclopedia
Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi , Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance
, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, also often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a world-renowned Pakistan
i artist, best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a painter. He is considered as one of the finest painters and calligraphers Pakistan
has ever produced.
who brought Sadequain into the limelight He also spent some time in Paris augmenting his skills. Sadequain received much praise for his calligraphic style, which is widely considered iconic by many critics of South Asian art.
Life in Chronology
1930 - Born in Amroha
1954 - First solo exhibition in Quetta
1955 - Mural at Jinnah Hospital, exhibitions at Frere Hall
and residence of Mr. Suhrawardy
1960 - Awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and first prize in National Exhibition
1961 - Awarded “Laureate de Paris”
1962 - President’s Medal of Honor
, Mural at State Bank of Pakistan
, and exhibitions in France
1963 - Visited USA, several exhibitions
1964 - Illustrated “Le Etranger”
1967 - Executed mural at Mangla Dam
1968 - Executed mural at Punjab University Library
1969 - Calligraphy of Sura-e-Rehman
1973 - Murals in Lahore Museum
1974 - Exhibitions in Middle East
and Eastern Europe
1976 - T.V. Series Mojiza-e-fun
1977 - Illustrated Ghalib
1979 - Mural in Abu Dhabi
1981 - Tour of India
, murals at Aligarh, Banaras, Hyderabad, Delhi
1985 - Illustrated Faiz Ahmad Faiz
1986 - Mural at Frere Hall
1987 - died
2000 - Sadequain Institute of Arts & Informaiton Technology (simsit)
Before Sadeqain, few painters had experimented with the medium in Pakistan
. Sadequain is commended for bringing calligraphy into a mainstream art form, as most of the known Pakistan
i artists have followed Sadequain and calligraphic art now dominates the art scene.
Sadequain also painted classical literature from the poetic verses of Ghalib, Iqbal
and Faiz. He belonged to the school of thought which enriched realism
with lyricism.
Sadequain Illustrated French Nobel Prize winning writer Albert Camus
, Ghalib, Iqbal
, and Faiz
He did thousands of drawings and gave them away to his admirers. He wrote and published hundreds of quartets
Sadequain was the most prolific painter of the post partition Pakistan
. He was constantly at work and he worked on large scale. He repeatedly stated that he was not interested in decorating drawing rooms of rich and powerful. He worked on large murals for public buildings symbolic of the collective labor of humanity and his work was mostly donated to the public.
Sadequain in his own words was primarily a painter of figures with allegorical significance.
His monumental murals, in excess of thirty-five, represent unparalleled body of artistic endeavor by any artist of the country. These murals adorn the halls of State Bank, Frere Hall Karachi, Lahore Museum, Punjab University, Mangla Dam, Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Indian Institute of Geological Sciences, Islamic Institute in Delhi, and Abu Dhabi Power House to name a few. To put it in perspective, his paintings and calligraphies in the building of Islamic Institute in Delhi alone cover more than seven thousand square feet.
Sadequain painted his earliest murals at Jinnah Hospital and PIA head quarters in 1950s. These murals have disappeared and their fate is unknown.
In 1961 he painted the huge mural (62'X10') in the Head Office of the State Bank of Pakistan at Karachi, titled "Treasures of Time,” in which he showed the intellectual advance of man from the times of Socrates to that of lqbal and Einstein. It is a linear creation that shows a pageant of intellectuals and thinkers of the Greek era, mathematicians and chemists of the Middle East, the scholars of the European renaissance, and the 20th century laureates. This large mural has endured transportation from the Sate Bank to Mohatta Palace (for the exhibition The Holy Sinner), and back to State Bank and has deep scars to prove the ordeal. As incredulous as it may sound, one of the corners of the mural was cut off to accommodate the outlet of an air conditioner’s duct.
Sadequain painted the ceiling of the Lahore museum entrance hall, depicting Evolution of Mankind, and additional nine large panels of calligraphies for the Islamic Gallery. The ceiling spans approximately 100 x 35 feet (10.7 m). This magnificent piece of work showed obvious scars of time screaming for help. However, it was consoling to learn that the Panjab government has allocated money for the restoration of the mural.
Punjab University houses the mural “Quest of Knowledge” in its library. The mural appropriately depicts the academic theme commensurate with the institution of learning where it is housed. Young men and women are shown holding high the key to learning that unleashes riches in their lives. The mural is mounted high up against the ceiling of the main library and appears to be in good condition.
The mural in the Punjab Library (adjacent to Lahore Museum) is mounted in the library hall located on the main floor. All four sections of the mural have been disassembled and dismounted because of the damage to the building due to water seepage.
The ceiling of the Frere Hall, displays in bold, the words, “Arz-o-Samawat” (Earth and the Heavens) bears a historical significance, since it represents the last piece of work by Sadequain. He died before he could complete it. Before he started painting the stupendous mural on the ceiling he dedicated it to the citizens of the great city of Karachi. The mural is for the citizens to cherish and it should be treated as a national treasure. However, because of the security conditions the citizens are deprived of entry in Frere Hall and the impressive historical building along with the Mural lie in desperate need of care. The bright colors Sadequain used in the mural to depict the Earth and the Heavens are fading away because of the environmental conditions. The large mural is painted on dozens of individual panels that are put together like the pieces of a puzzle. Several of the panels are detached and hang down under their own weight. It is only a matter of time before the panels start falling apart.
The mural titled “Saga of Labor” by Sadequain at Mangla Dam is a glowing tribute to the workingmen and women of all times and places who form the backbone of any society. The mural hangs in the powerhouse of Mangla Dam and so far endured the harsh environmental conditions of the huge enclosure that also houses gigantic electric turbines.
Banaras Hindu University houses one large mural. It is kept in good condition because of care provided to it by the authorities.
In addition to the murals mentioned above, Sadequain did many others, perhaps in the neighborhood of over thirty-five in all. However, whereabouts of several of them are not certain. For example one mural was done for the Naval Headquarters, but cannot be located. There was one done for the PIA’s office in Paris, which does not exist at the that location. There were murals dedicated to the War of 1965 that cannot be traced.
Sadequain painted thousands of paintings, drawings, and murals in his lifetime. He hardly ever sold his work and mostly gave it away; sometimes his work was simply taken, and sometime even stolen. In his lifetime there were two galleries named after him by the authorities, but they no longer exist.
Best known for his calligraphies, Sadequain painted abstracts, drawings, and sketches on thousands of canvases, volumes of paper, and multitudes of other conventional and unconventional materials.
in Pakistan
. He was one of the greatest calligraphers of our time and helped transform the art of calligraphy into serious expressionist paintings. He claimed that his transformation into a calligrapher was manifested by divine inspiration. He did not follow the tradition and created his own style of script. His alphabets exude motion, mood, and paint vivid pictures of the message of the word. Sadequain claimed that many of his paintings especially after the seventies had been based on calligraphic forms to portray images of cities, buildings, forests, men, and women.
In Pakistan
, the art of calligraphy was relegated to a second-class status until Sadequain adapted this medium in the late nineteen sixties. Until then a few painters experimented with the medium but it remained as just that, an experiment. After Sadequain transformed the art of calligraphy into a mainstream art form, most of the known Pakistan
i artists have followed Sadequain and calligraphic art now dominates the art scene.
in exacting resemblance of Sadequain’s signature script.
In nineteen sixties Sadequain was invited by the French
authorities to illustrate the award winning novel “The Stranger” by French writer Albert Camus
. Sadequain also illustrated on canvas the poetry of Ghalib, Iqbal
and Faiz as homage to their place in classical literature. Sadequain wrote thousands of quartets, which address a common theme of social and cultural dogmas and published them.
A special word is warranted about the large murals Sadequain painted, which are spread all over the subcontinent. His murals depict man’s struggle, his achievements and persistent thirst to discover his endless potential. His murals are full of activity, ideas, and they read like an unfolding story about their particular theme.
One of his most powerful works is the gigantic mural measuring 200'x30' for the Power House of Mangla Dam
. He completed it in an incredible period of three months during which he worked day and night. Aptly so, the mural is titled "The Saga of Labor," The mural, one of the largest in the world portrays the history of mankind. Its pays homage to its characters, which are exclusively laborers and worker, facing and struggling against the powerful elements of the nature.
Sadequain was a social commentator. He crafted his message on canvas by the aid of powerful symbols and rich colors. Characteristically he would address particular situations through a series of paintings, which would follow a common theme and yet maintain their individuality. His symbols transformed with time as he adapted to the changing conditions.
in areas surrounded by desert where nothing could grow except cactus which would break through the rugged sandy ground. The sight of the wild cactus growing in scorching heat and surviving the harshest of conditions left a lasting impression on Sadequain. He adapted this symbol to depict labor, struggle, and persistence against natural elements of resistance and triumph of hard work.
Sadequain sketched numerous drawings titled Cobweb Series, Crow Series, Christ Series, Hope Series, and Sun Series during sixties, which were commentaries on prevailing social and cultural conditions. Sadequain saw cobwebs engulfing our society rendering it speechless and motionless. The Crow Series projected men as timid worshippers of scarecrows because they have lost self-respect and spirituality. Crows however are not intimidated and gang up on humanity in flocks and pick on lifeless humans. In the Christ Series Sadequain showed the crime being committed in front of the Christ while he was still alive on the Cross.
Contrary to man’s images portrayed in Cobweb or Crow Series of drawings, Sadequain glorified the hard work and labor of ordinary workingmen by showing them struggling with primitive tools during the stone age, developing agricultural land, discovering scientific breakthroughs, and exploring the universe. He sometime used Kufic script to form human images and carried that theme through vast canvases. One of the representative works of this genre is titled “The Last Supper,” which was awarded the prestigious Binnale de Paris
award in France
. Sadequain was awarded first prize in National Exhibition of Pakistan
in early sixties. He was bestowed with several awards and medals in Pakistan
as well as foreign counties. But he seldom attended the award ceremonies neither accepted the award money.
Sadequain had commanding knowledge of literature. He wrote thousands of “Rubaiyats,” which he published in several books. These verses have been adjudged unique and critically acclaimed by literary elite. Like his paintings, the verses also address the topics of human nature, virtues and weaknesses of society.
During his life Sadequain exhibited his works on all continents. His exhibitions in foreign countries were sponsored at State levels and were attended by large audiences of all walks of life. A “faqir” at heart he gave away most of his paintings to friends and foes, and painted gigantic murals in public buildings at no cost. He declared the giveaways as gifts to the citizens of the cities where the public building were situated.
Sadequain has been covered in the print and electronic media extensively such as the TV series “Mojeeza-e-Fun” which highlighted his work in a masterful documentary. “The Holy Sinner” is a book published in 2003, cataloguing a number of his paintings, which were exhibited at Mohatta Palace
, Karachi
during the same year. The massive book is one of the largest and heaviest ever published in Pakistan
and it also has a collection of articles about Sadequain published previously in magazines and papers over the course of years.
Prominent works =
: Sadequain” recently published, is a tribute and celebration of this Pakistan
i artist's vitality, innovation, restless fervor and immense amount of energy. This book launched as the third stage of a monumental project with the same title is possibly the largest art project in the sub-continent to pay tribute to a single artist under the aegis of Mohatta Palace Museum. The first stage of the project was an exhibition of paintings of Sadequain under the same title and the second stage of the project; a black and white catalogue of Sadequain's work was launched last year. The fourth stage of the project will consist of four documentaries; both in Urdu
and English language and one special feature film would be produced about the internationally recognized artist.
The book of about 700 pages, weighing 12 kg, includes reproduction of some 400 of Sadequain's creations, supported by an anthology of critical commentaries by the artist's contemporaries and journalists including renowned artistic figures and critics. It contains essays on the great artist and plates of his paintings and sketches. The sections in the book consist of Photographic Essay, Critical Approaches, Recollections, Reproductions, Catalogue, Pictures at an Exhibition, Rubaiyat, Photo Epilogue, Afterward, Life and Works. The book is largest monograph in the region complied and produced to pay unprecedented tribute to a single artist, setting a new trend for paying tributes to artists in South Asia.
Some of the themes of the paintings in the book are 'A stranger in paradise', 'Endless purgatory', 'Rhapsody in Blue', 'Wheel in fire', 'A long day', 'Of human bondage' also included in bold form the poetic verses of Ghalib, Iqbal
and Faiz.
The book is primarily based on the famous exhibition of paintings of Sadequain titled, “The Holy Sinner: Sadequain.” which ended about a year ago and was by far the largest-attended and longest-running exhibition in the history of Pakistani art. Salima Hashmi
, daughter of the late poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Hameed Haroon
, proprietor of Dawn Publications were the co-curators of the groundbreaking exhibition. The exhibition, featuring more than 200 non-calligraphic works of the Amroha
-born artist, was held at Mohatta Palace
Museum and it remained open for approximately one year.
The exhibition was attended by more than 90,000 art lovers at a cost of Rs100 each who saw rare paintings and murals by Sadequain whose commercial worth, at a low estimate, was more than Rs500 million.
Sadequain was an untraditional and self-made, self-taught painter and calligrapher who, created mysterious and mystic environment with his bold and uninhibited use of media and lines had a cult like following in his own lifetime. His unique style, whether pertaining to his paintings or calligraphy, was widely referred to as “Khat-e-Sadequain-e” primarily evolved during his stay at a Karachi
seaside desert called Gadani
. The Holy Sinner: Sadequain contains over 400 of his series of drawings, paintings, and murals, each representing a different phase of his career and depicting his unique strokes, style, and color schemes. It was at Gadani that Sadequain observed the wild growth of cactus in the scorching heat of desert where water was scarce and conditions were harshest. Yet the cactus grew tall, shooting upwards in defiance of all odds. The powerful symbol of defiant cactus transcends throughout Sadequain’s work and creates a lasting impression on the observer.
The exhibition was a rare opportunity for the viewers because Sadequain, who became a virtual household word for his calligraphic works did not exhibit his abstract paintings during the last days of his life and of course the large number of murals that he painted were dedicated to specific locations only. Hameed Haroon
described very aptly as follows: “Sadequain's symbols are part-calligraphic strokes, part-sacred standards or alams that first emerged in the eighth century as the symbols of the armies of Shi'ite Islam, perhaps most visible as representations of allegorical virtue in the annual Moharram ritual following the Karbala massacre
; part Sufic tributes to the son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
, the martyred Ali, whose horned alif in the Kufic script provokes a militancy of sentiment and a plea for transformation based, ironically enough, on the fundamentals of early Islam.”
The paintings in the exhibition were loaned by virtually who is who of the Pakistan
i elite. In his lifetime Sadequain hardly ever sold his paintings to individuals. As an ironic twist of circumstances he is perhaps the only artist with the distinction that his work is openly copied and sold for handsome profits by his imitators. Recently two news stories were printed in local papers, which testify, in the most unconventional manner, to the great stature of Sadequain. Both news stories were related to burglars, one in which a house belonging to one of the prominent artists in Karachi
was broken in and the thieves got away with jewelry and other petty items, and the other incident involved the house of a well to do citizen where the stolen items included only the paintings by Sadequain.
The book, The Holy Sinner: Sadequain, includes drawings series titled, Cacti series, the Sun series, Exposition series, Cobweb series, etc. A word about the Cobweb series is appropriate, because it was created during the turbulent times of 1960s and the drawings depict men and women, even the building structures immobilized by cobwebs as though in decay and transgressing instead of marching on the rocky road to the peaks of perfection.
The paintings in The Holy Sinner: Sadequain, represent various themes such as man’s struggle against natural odds, mother and child, still life figures from the early life of the artist and many others. The centerpiece of the book is its treatment of the famous mural by Sadequain commissioned for the State Bank of Pakistan. The mural titled “The Treasures of Time” depicts evolution of mankind and traces the history of great scholars, philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, poets, and writers. It is said that the mural became a turning point in the intellectual development of Sadequain. Hameed Haroon noted that from this onwards, his intellectual force entered the world of Ovid, the romance of Alexander and the Amroha-spun tales of ancient Greece and Rome, leading to a unique fusion in Pakistan's art history.
Karachi
, also called Gallery Sadequain. After he died, the Islamabad
gallery was disassembled and some two hundred paintings were unaccounted for and the Frere Hall gallery is closed for all practical purposes because of the security reasons. Forty calligraphic panels on marbel slabs measuring 6 ft (1.8 m) x 5 ft each have disappeared.
At the time of his death at OMI Clinic in Karachi, his attendant was present when Sadequain took his last breath at 2:00 AM. The attendant did not inform the doctors of Sadequain's death and instead took off for Frere Hall where Sadequain had been working on the ceiling. The attendant loaded as many paintings as he could in a Susuki van, took them to a safe house and then returned to the hospital to inform the doctors. The stolen paintings are resurfacing for sale at regular frequency.
, France
Sadequain is one of the few serious artists from the subcontinent. The multiplicity of his gifts is reminiscent of Picasso
New York Times, USA
There is a new personality in art. Pakistan
’s pride Upside Down Artist Sadequain
UAE News, UAE
His exhibition in Abu Dhabi has been seen by many people and most of the visitors who inspected his works wanted to buy them. “But the exhibits are not for sale” he told them
Dr. Akbar Naqvi, IMAGE AND IDENTITY
If Sadequain had done nothing but his drawings, he would still be among the inventors of modern art in the country
at the age of 57. He is buried in Sakhi Hassan
graveyard
.
e]]
issued a Rs. 40 sheetlet to posthumously honour 10 Pakistani Painters. Besides Sadequain, the other 9 painters are: Laila Shahzada
, Askari Mian Irani
, Zahoor ul Akhlaq
, Ali Imam
, Shakir Ali
, Anna Molka Ahmed
, Zubeida Agha
, Ahmed Pervez
and Bashir Mirza
.
st-20 block 5 nipa chowrangi karachi phone-02134980928-03002629425
Principal/Administrator is Muhammad Zamir Ahmed
Pride of Performance
Pride of Performance , is one of the highest civil award given and conferred by the Pakistan Government to Pakistan's citizens in recognition of distinguished merit in the fields of Literature, Arts, Sports, Medicines, and Science for civilians in most particular cases.The announcement of civil...
, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, also often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a world-renowned Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i artist, best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a painter. He is considered as one of the finest painters and calligraphers Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
has ever produced.
Personal life
Sadequain was born in 1930, descending from a family of calligraphers. In late 1940s he joined the Progressive Writers and Artists Movement. His true talent was discovered by Huseyn Shaheed SuhrawardyHuseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was a Pakistani-Bengali politician and statesman who served as 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 till 1957, and a close associate of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime minister of Pakistan...
who brought Sadequain into the limelight He also spent some time in Paris augmenting his skills. Sadequain received much praise for his calligraphic style, which is widely considered iconic by many critics of South Asian art.
Life in Chronology
1930 - Born in Amroha
Amroha
Amroha is a small town in the north-western Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. It is located north-west of Moradabad, near the Sot River...
1954 - First solo exhibition in Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
1955 - Mural at Jinnah Hospital, exhibitions at Frere Hall
Frere Hall
Frere Hall is one of the few well-preserved buildings from the days of the British Raj that still exists in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.It was built in honour of Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere , who was known for promoting economic development in Karachi.-Location:The Hall is located between Abdullah...
and residence of Mr. Suhrawardy
1960 - Awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and first prize in National Exhibition
1961 - Awarded “Laureate de Paris”
1962 - President’s Medal of Honor
Pride of Performance
Pride of Performance , is one of the highest civil award given and conferred by the Pakistan Government to Pakistan's citizens in recognition of distinguished merit in the fields of Literature, Arts, Sports, Medicines, and Science for civilians in most particular cases.The announcement of civil...
, Mural at State Bank of Pakistan
State Bank of Pakistan
The State Bank of Pakistan is the central bank of Pakistan. While its constitution, as originally laid down in the State Bank of Pakistan Order 1948, remained basically unchanged until January 1, 1974, when the bank was nationalized, the scope of its functions was considerably enlarged...
, and exhibitions in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
1963 - Visited USA, several exhibitions
1964 - Illustrated “Le Etranger”
1967 - Executed mural at Mangla Dam
Mangla Dam
The Mangla Dam is located on the Jhelum River in the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is the sixteenth largest dam in the world. It was built from 1961 to 1967 with funding from the World Bank. The project was designed and supervised by Binnie & Partners of London, and it was built...
1968 - Executed mural at Punjab University Library
University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab , colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its...
1969 - Calligraphy of Sura-e-Rehman
Ar-Rahman
Surat ar-Rahman is the 55th sura of the Qur'an with 78 ayats.It has the refrain: "Then which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?"- Verse :Ar-Rahman is often regarded as the 'beauty of the Quran', in accordance with a hadith:...
1973 - Murals in Lahore Museum
Lahore Museum
Lahore Museum , established in 1894, is located in The Mall, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Rudyard Kipling's father, John Lockwood Kipling, was one of the famous curators of the museum. Over 250,000 admissions were registered in 2005.-Attractions:...
1974 - Exhibitions in Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
1976 - T.V. Series Mojiza-e-fun
1977 - Illustrated Ghalib
1979 - Mural in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
1981 - Tour of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, murals at Aligarh, Banaras, Hyderabad, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
1985 - Illustrated Faiz Ahmad Faiz
1986 - Mural at Frere Hall
Frere Hall
Frere Hall is one of the few well-preserved buildings from the days of the British Raj that still exists in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.It was built in honour of Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere , who was known for promoting economic development in Karachi.-Location:The Hall is located between Abdullah...
1987 - died
2000 - Sadequain Institute of Arts & Informaiton Technology (simsit)
Calligraphy
He carried the script with a flourish in all directions, giving it the 'power of space, vigor and volume'.Before Sadeqain, few painters had experimented with the medium in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Sadequain is commended for bringing calligraphy into a mainstream art form, as most of the known Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i artists have followed Sadequain and calligraphic art now dominates the art scene.
Sadequain also painted classical literature from the poetic verses of Ghalib, Iqbal
Muhammad Iqbal
Sir Muhammad Iqbal , commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal , was a poet and philosopher born in Sialkot, then in the Punjab Province of British India, now in Pakistan...
and Faiz. He belonged to the school of thought which enriched realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
with lyricism.
Sadequain Illustrated French Nobel Prize winning writer Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
, Ghalib, Iqbal
Muhammad Iqbal
Sir Muhammad Iqbal , commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal , was a poet and philosopher born in Sialkot, then in the Punjab Province of British India, now in Pakistan...
, and Faiz
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani intellectual, poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union...
He did thousands of drawings and gave them away to his admirers. He wrote and published hundreds of quartets
Sadequain was the most prolific painter of the post partition Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. He was constantly at work and he worked on large scale. He repeatedly stated that he was not interested in decorating drawing rooms of rich and powerful. He worked on large murals for public buildings symbolic of the collective labor of humanity and his work was mostly donated to the public.
Sadequain in his own words was primarily a painter of figures with allegorical significance.
Murals
Sadequain was a social commentator. His murals depict man’s endless quest to discover and develop the potentialities that lie within him. His murals are densely filled and tightly packed with images to render adequately the lofty subject. As a master muralist some of his works adorn the halls of:- The State Bank of PakistanState Bank of PakistanThe State Bank of Pakistan is the central bank of Pakistan. While its constitution, as originally laid down in the State Bank of Pakistan Order 1948, remained basically unchanged until January 1, 1974, when the bank was nationalized, the scope of its functions was considerably enlarged...
(100 x 12 ft), - The Power House at the Mangla DamMangla DamThe Mangla Dam is located on the Jhelum River in the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is the sixteenth largest dam in the world. It was built from 1961 to 1967 with funding from the World Bank. The project was designed and supervised by Binnie & Partners of London, and it was built...
(200 x 30 ft), - Lahore MuseumLahore MuseumLahore Museum , established in 1894, is located in The Mall, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Rudyard Kipling's father, John Lockwood Kipling, was one of the famous curators of the museum. Over 250,000 admissions were registered in 2005.-Attractions:...
, LahoreLahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a... - Aligarh Muslim UniversityAligarh Muslim UniversityAligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...
(70 x 12 ft), - Banaras Hindu UniversityBanaras Hindu UniversityBanaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
(70 x 12 ft), and - Geological Institute of IndiaGeological Society of IndiaThe Geological Society of India is based in Bangalore, India. Its flagship product is the Journal of the Geological Society of India .-Establishment:...
(70 x 25 ft) - Frere HallFrere HallFrere Hall is one of the few well-preserved buildings from the days of the British Raj that still exists in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.It was built in honour of Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere , who was known for promoting economic development in Karachi.-Location:The Hall is located between Abdullah...
KarachiKarachiKarachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and - Powerhouse at Abu DhabiAbu DhabiAbu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
- Punjab University LibraryUniversity of the PunjabUniversity of the Punjab , colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its...
His monumental murals, in excess of thirty-five, represent unparalleled body of artistic endeavor by any artist of the country. These murals adorn the halls of State Bank, Frere Hall Karachi, Lahore Museum, Punjab University, Mangla Dam, Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Indian Institute of Geological Sciences, Islamic Institute in Delhi, and Abu Dhabi Power House to name a few. To put it in perspective, his paintings and calligraphies in the building of Islamic Institute in Delhi alone cover more than seven thousand square feet.
Sadequain painted his earliest murals at Jinnah Hospital and PIA head quarters in 1950s. These murals have disappeared and their fate is unknown.
In 1961 he painted the huge mural (62'X10') in the Head Office of the State Bank of Pakistan at Karachi, titled "Treasures of Time,” in which he showed the intellectual advance of man from the times of Socrates to that of lqbal and Einstein. It is a linear creation that shows a pageant of intellectuals and thinkers of the Greek era, mathematicians and chemists of the Middle East, the scholars of the European renaissance, and the 20th century laureates. This large mural has endured transportation from the Sate Bank to Mohatta Palace (for the exhibition The Holy Sinner), and back to State Bank and has deep scars to prove the ordeal. As incredulous as it may sound, one of the corners of the mural was cut off to accommodate the outlet of an air conditioner’s duct.
Sadequain painted the ceiling of the Lahore museum entrance hall, depicting Evolution of Mankind, and additional nine large panels of calligraphies for the Islamic Gallery. The ceiling spans approximately 100 x 35 feet (10.7 m). This magnificent piece of work showed obvious scars of time screaming for help. However, it was consoling to learn that the Panjab government has allocated money for the restoration of the mural.
Punjab University houses the mural “Quest of Knowledge” in its library. The mural appropriately depicts the academic theme commensurate with the institution of learning where it is housed. Young men and women are shown holding high the key to learning that unleashes riches in their lives. The mural is mounted high up against the ceiling of the main library and appears to be in good condition.
The mural in the Punjab Library (adjacent to Lahore Museum) is mounted in the library hall located on the main floor. All four sections of the mural have been disassembled and dismounted because of the damage to the building due to water seepage.
The ceiling of the Frere Hall, displays in bold, the words, “Arz-o-Samawat” (Earth and the Heavens) bears a historical significance, since it represents the last piece of work by Sadequain. He died before he could complete it. Before he started painting the stupendous mural on the ceiling he dedicated it to the citizens of the great city of Karachi. The mural is for the citizens to cherish and it should be treated as a national treasure. However, because of the security conditions the citizens are deprived of entry in Frere Hall and the impressive historical building along with the Mural lie in desperate need of care. The bright colors Sadequain used in the mural to depict the Earth and the Heavens are fading away because of the environmental conditions. The large mural is painted on dozens of individual panels that are put together like the pieces of a puzzle. Several of the panels are detached and hang down under their own weight. It is only a matter of time before the panels start falling apart.
The mural titled “Saga of Labor” by Sadequain at Mangla Dam is a glowing tribute to the workingmen and women of all times and places who form the backbone of any society. The mural hangs in the powerhouse of Mangla Dam and so far endured the harsh environmental conditions of the huge enclosure that also houses gigantic electric turbines.
Banaras Hindu University houses one large mural. It is kept in good condition because of care provided to it by the authorities.
In addition to the murals mentioned above, Sadequain did many others, perhaps in the neighborhood of over thirty-five in all. However, whereabouts of several of them are not certain. For example one mural was done for the Naval Headquarters, but cannot be located. There was one done for the PIA’s office in Paris, which does not exist at the that location. There were murals dedicated to the War of 1965 that cannot be traced.
Sadequain painted thousands of paintings, drawings, and murals in his lifetime. He hardly ever sold his work and mostly gave it away; sometimes his work was simply taken, and sometime even stolen. In his lifetime there were two galleries named after him by the authorities, but they no longer exist.
Speaker of Truth
In an interview he said, “People ask why I don't paint flowers, butterflies and landscapes? I tell them that I seek the truth and I am after reality. I am not inspired by someone posing against the backdrop of roses in a vase or pink curtains. What inspires me is a person who has gone hungry for hours and is struggling for survival. The expression that lights his face at the end of the day when he has finally found some scraps, that is what touches me. I am a painter of the expression of reality.” Self proclaimed “Faqir,” Sadequain was outside society’s worldly greed or hypocrisy and called himself “speaker of truth.”Best known for his calligraphies, Sadequain painted abstracts, drawings, and sketches on thousands of canvases, volumes of paper, and multitudes of other conventional and unconventional materials.
Renaissance of Islamic Calligraphy
Sadequain was responsible for the renaissance of Islamic calligraphyIslamic calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy, colloquially known as Perso-Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice of handwriting, or calligraphy, and by extension, of bookmaking, in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. This art form is based on the Arabic script, which for a long time was used by all...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. He was one of the greatest calligraphers of our time and helped transform the art of calligraphy into serious expressionist paintings. He claimed that his transformation into a calligrapher was manifested by divine inspiration. He did not follow the tradition and created his own style of script. His alphabets exude motion, mood, and paint vivid pictures of the message of the word. Sadequain claimed that many of his paintings especially after the seventies had been based on calligraphic forms to portray images of cities, buildings, forests, men, and women.
In Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, the art of calligraphy was relegated to a second-class status until Sadequain adapted this medium in the late nineteen sixties. Until then a few painters experimented with the medium but it remained as just that, an experiment. After Sadequain transformed the art of calligraphy into a mainstream art form, most of the known Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i artists have followed Sadequain and calligraphic art now dominates the art scene.
A True Artist
Many painters have emulated Sadequain openly and widely and even the copies fetch large sums for the copiers, an irony since Sadequain himself hardly ever sold his paintings in spite of offers from the royals and the common public. In a recent auction in a London auction house one of his painting was sold for $108,000. His masterpiece rendition of “Sureh-e-Rehman” has inspired many known painters of the modern era and it can even be found adorning the facades of many houses in KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
in exacting resemblance of Sadequain’s signature script.
In nineteen sixties Sadequain was invited by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
authorities to illustrate the award winning novel “The Stranger” by French writer Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
. Sadequain also illustrated on canvas the poetry of Ghalib, Iqbal
Muhammad Iqbal
Sir Muhammad Iqbal , commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal , was a poet and philosopher born in Sialkot, then in the Punjab Province of British India, now in Pakistan...
and Faiz as homage to their place in classical literature. Sadequain wrote thousands of quartets, which address a common theme of social and cultural dogmas and published them.
A special word is warranted about the large murals Sadequain painted, which are spread all over the subcontinent. His murals depict man’s struggle, his achievements and persistent thirst to discover his endless potential. His murals are full of activity, ideas, and they read like an unfolding story about their particular theme.
One of his most powerful works is the gigantic mural measuring 200'x30' for the Power House of Mangla Dam
Mangla Dam
The Mangla Dam is located on the Jhelum River in the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is the sixteenth largest dam in the world. It was built from 1961 to 1967 with funding from the World Bank. The project was designed and supervised by Binnie & Partners of London, and it was built...
. He completed it in an incredible period of three months during which he worked day and night. Aptly so, the mural is titled "The Saga of Labor," The mural, one of the largest in the world portrays the history of mankind. Its pays homage to its characters, which are exclusively laborers and worker, facing and struggling against the powerful elements of the nature.
Sadequain was a social commentator. He crafted his message on canvas by the aid of powerful symbols and rich colors. Characteristically he would address particular situations through a series of paintings, which would follow a common theme and yet maintain their individuality. His symbols transformed with time as he adapted to the changing conditions.
His Works
During nineteen sixties he stayed in interior SindhSindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
in areas surrounded by desert where nothing could grow except cactus which would break through the rugged sandy ground. The sight of the wild cactus growing in scorching heat and surviving the harshest of conditions left a lasting impression on Sadequain. He adapted this symbol to depict labor, struggle, and persistence against natural elements of resistance and triumph of hard work.
Sadequain sketched numerous drawings titled Cobweb Series, Crow Series, Christ Series, Hope Series, and Sun Series during sixties, which were commentaries on prevailing social and cultural conditions. Sadequain saw cobwebs engulfing our society rendering it speechless and motionless. The Crow Series projected men as timid worshippers of scarecrows because they have lost self-respect and spirituality. Crows however are not intimidated and gang up on humanity in flocks and pick on lifeless humans. In the Christ Series Sadequain showed the crime being committed in front of the Christ while he was still alive on the Cross.
Contrary to man’s images portrayed in Cobweb or Crow Series of drawings, Sadequain glorified the hard work and labor of ordinary workingmen by showing them struggling with primitive tools during the stone age, developing agricultural land, discovering scientific breakthroughs, and exploring the universe. He sometime used Kufic script to form human images and carried that theme through vast canvases. One of the representative works of this genre is titled “The Last Supper,” which was awarded the prestigious Binnale de Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
award in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Sadequain was awarded first prize in National Exhibition of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in early sixties. He was bestowed with several awards and medals in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
as well as foreign counties. But he seldom attended the award ceremonies neither accepted the award money.
Sadequain had commanding knowledge of literature. He wrote thousands of “Rubaiyats,” which he published in several books. These verses have been adjudged unique and critically acclaimed by literary elite. Like his paintings, the verses also address the topics of human nature, virtues and weaknesses of society.
During his life Sadequain exhibited his works on all continents. His exhibitions in foreign countries were sponsored at State levels and were attended by large audiences of all walks of life. A “faqir” at heart he gave away most of his paintings to friends and foes, and painted gigantic murals in public buildings at no cost. He declared the giveaways as gifts to the citizens of the cities where the public building were situated.
Sadequain has been covered in the print and electronic media extensively such as the TV series “Mojeeza-e-Fun” which highlighted his work in a masterful documentary. “The Holy Sinner” is a book published in 2003, cataloguing a number of his paintings, which were exhibited at Mohatta Palace
Mohatta Palace
The Mohatta Palace is located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It was built by Shivratan Chandraratan Mohatta, an ambitious self-made businessman from Marwar as his summer home in 1927. The architect of the palace was Agha Ahmed Hussain. However, Mohatta could enjoy this building for only about two...
, Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
during the same year. The massive book is one of the largest and heaviest ever published in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and it also has a collection of articles about Sadequain published previously in magazines and papers over the course of years.
Prominent works =
- Lithographic illustration of L'ÉtrangerThe Stranger (novel)The Stranger or The Outsider is a novel by Albert Camus published in 1942. Its theme and outlook are often cited as examples of existentialism, though Camus did not consider himself an existentialist; in fact, its content explores various philosophical schools of thought, including absurdism, as...
by Albert CamusAlbert CamusAlbert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
, 1965 - Illustrations of the classical urduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
literature, especially the poetryPoetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
of Ghalib, IqbalMuhammad IqbalSir Muhammad Iqbal , commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal , was a poet and philosopher born in Sialkot, then in the Punjab Province of British India, now in Pakistan...
and Faiz on canvas. - Painting, Aftaab-e-Taaza, illustration of lines by Allama Iqbal, 9 by 6 feet (1.8 m) - Site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicorn_Gallery
Reverence
The mammoth book “The Holy SinnerThe Holy Sinner
The Holy Sinner is a German novel written by Thomas Mann. Published in 1951 it is based on the medieval verse epic Gregorius written by the German Minnesinger Hartmann von Aue . The book explores a subject that fascinated Thomas Mann to the end of his life—the origins of evil and evil's...
: Sadequain” recently published, is a tribute and celebration of this Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i artist's vitality, innovation, restless fervor and immense amount of energy. This book launched as the third stage of a monumental project with the same title is possibly the largest art project in the sub-continent to pay tribute to a single artist under the aegis of Mohatta Palace Museum. The first stage of the project was an exhibition of paintings of Sadequain under the same title and the second stage of the project; a black and white catalogue of Sadequain's work was launched last year. The fourth stage of the project will consist of four documentaries; both in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and English language and one special feature film would be produced about the internationally recognized artist.
The book of about 700 pages, weighing 12 kg, includes reproduction of some 400 of Sadequain's creations, supported by an anthology of critical commentaries by the artist's contemporaries and journalists including renowned artistic figures and critics. It contains essays on the great artist and plates of his paintings and sketches. The sections in the book consist of Photographic Essay, Critical Approaches, Recollections, Reproductions, Catalogue, Pictures at an Exhibition, Rubaiyat, Photo Epilogue, Afterward, Life and Works. The book is largest monograph in the region complied and produced to pay unprecedented tribute to a single artist, setting a new trend for paying tributes to artists in South Asia.
Some of the themes of the paintings in the book are 'A stranger in paradise', 'Endless purgatory', 'Rhapsody in Blue', 'Wheel in fire', 'A long day', 'Of human bondage' also included in bold form the poetic verses of Ghalib, Iqbal
Muhammad Iqbal
Sir Muhammad Iqbal , commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal , was a poet and philosopher born in Sialkot, then in the Punjab Province of British India, now in Pakistan...
and Faiz.
The book is primarily based on the famous exhibition of paintings of Sadequain titled, “The Holy Sinner: Sadequain.” which ended about a year ago and was by far the largest-attended and longest-running exhibition in the history of Pakistani art. Salima Hashmi
Salima Hashmi
Salima Hashmi is a Pakistani painter, artist, writer, anti-nuclear weapon activist and a professor who served for four years as the head of the National College of Arts...
, daughter of the late poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Hameed Haroon
Hameed Haroon
-Introduction:Hameed Haroon is Chief Executive Officer of Dawn Media Group , Pakistan’s leading media conglomerate. The Group comprises Pakistan Herald Publications Limited, the printers and publishers of the Dawn newspaper and three leading magazines, the Herald Spider and Aurora ;...
, proprietor of Dawn Publications were the co-curators of the groundbreaking exhibition. The exhibition, featuring more than 200 non-calligraphic works of the Amroha
Amroha
Amroha is a small town in the north-western Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. It is located north-west of Moradabad, near the Sot River...
-born artist, was held at Mohatta Palace
Mohatta Palace
The Mohatta Palace is located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It was built by Shivratan Chandraratan Mohatta, an ambitious self-made businessman from Marwar as his summer home in 1927. The architect of the palace was Agha Ahmed Hussain. However, Mohatta could enjoy this building for only about two...
Museum and it remained open for approximately one year.
The exhibition was attended by more than 90,000 art lovers at a cost of Rs100 each who saw rare paintings and murals by Sadequain whose commercial worth, at a low estimate, was more than Rs500 million.
Sadequain was an untraditional and self-made, self-taught painter and calligrapher who, created mysterious and mystic environment with his bold and uninhibited use of media and lines had a cult like following in his own lifetime. His unique style, whether pertaining to his paintings or calligraphy, was widely referred to as “Khat-e-Sadequain-e” primarily evolved during his stay at a Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
seaside desert called Gadani
Gadani
Gadani is a coastal village of Lasbela District located in the southern part of Balochistan along the Arabian Sea, Pakistan. It is also a Union Council of Hub Tehsil and is just a 1 hour drive away from Karachi, Sindh. The population of Gadani was estimated to be around 10,000 in 2005. More than...
. The Holy Sinner: Sadequain contains over 400 of his series of drawings, paintings, and murals, each representing a different phase of his career and depicting his unique strokes, style, and color schemes. It was at Gadani that Sadequain observed the wild growth of cactus in the scorching heat of desert where water was scarce and conditions were harshest. Yet the cactus grew tall, shooting upwards in defiance of all odds. The powerful symbol of defiant cactus transcends throughout Sadequain’s work and creates a lasting impression on the observer.
The exhibition was a rare opportunity for the viewers because Sadequain, who became a virtual household word for his calligraphic works did not exhibit his abstract paintings during the last days of his life and of course the large number of murals that he painted were dedicated to specific locations only. Hameed Haroon
Hameed Haroon
-Introduction:Hameed Haroon is Chief Executive Officer of Dawn Media Group , Pakistan’s leading media conglomerate. The Group comprises Pakistan Herald Publications Limited, the printers and publishers of the Dawn newspaper and three leading magazines, the Herald Spider and Aurora ;...
described very aptly as follows: “Sadequain's symbols are part-calligraphic strokes, part-sacred standards or alams that first emerged in the eighth century as the symbols of the armies of Shi'ite Islam, perhaps most visible as representations of allegorical virtue in the annual Moharram ritual following the Karbala massacre
Battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 of the Islamic calendar in Karbala, in present day Iraq. On one side of the highly uneven battle were a small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson Husain ibn Ali, and on the other was a large military detachment...
; part Sufic tributes to the son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, the martyred Ali, whose horned alif in the Kufic script provokes a militancy of sentiment and a plea for transformation based, ironically enough, on the fundamentals of early Islam.”
The paintings in the exhibition were loaned by virtually who is who of the Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i elite. In his lifetime Sadequain hardly ever sold his paintings to individuals. As an ironic twist of circumstances he is perhaps the only artist with the distinction that his work is openly copied and sold for handsome profits by his imitators. Recently two news stories were printed in local papers, which testify, in the most unconventional manner, to the great stature of Sadequain. Both news stories were related to burglars, one in which a house belonging to one of the prominent artists in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
was broken in and the thieves got away with jewelry and other petty items, and the other incident involved the house of a well to do citizen where the stolen items included only the paintings by Sadequain.
The book, The Holy Sinner: Sadequain, includes drawings series titled, Cacti series, the Sun series, Exposition series, Cobweb series, etc. A word about the Cobweb series is appropriate, because it was created during the turbulent times of 1960s and the drawings depict men and women, even the building structures immobilized by cobwebs as though in decay and transgressing instead of marching on the rocky road to the peaks of perfection.
The paintings in The Holy Sinner: Sadequain, represent various themes such as man’s struggle against natural odds, mother and child, still life figures from the early life of the artist and many others. The centerpiece of the book is its treatment of the famous mural by Sadequain commissioned for the State Bank of Pakistan. The mural titled “The Treasures of Time” depicts evolution of mankind and traces the history of great scholars, philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, poets, and writers. It is said that the mural became a turning point in the intellectual development of Sadequain. Hameed Haroon noted that from this onwards, his intellectual force entered the world of Ovid, the romance of Alexander and the Amroha-spun tales of ancient Greece and Rome, leading to a unique fusion in Pakistan's art history.
Lost Paintings
In his lifetime two art galleries were established by the official authorities, one in Islamabad called Gallery Sadequain, which was located in Block F and the second one in the Frere HallFrere Hall
Frere Hall is one of the few well-preserved buildings from the days of the British Raj that still exists in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.It was built in honour of Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere , who was known for promoting economic development in Karachi.-Location:The Hall is located between Abdullah...
Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, also called Gallery Sadequain. After he died, the Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
gallery was disassembled and some two hundred paintings were unaccounted for and the Frere Hall gallery is closed for all practical purposes because of the security reasons. Forty calligraphic panels on marbel slabs measuring 6 ft (1.8 m) x 5 ft each have disappeared.
At the time of his death at OMI Clinic in Karachi, his attendant was present when Sadequain took his last breath at 2:00 AM. The attendant did not inform the doctors of Sadequain's death and instead took off for Frere Hall where Sadequain had been working on the ceiling. The attendant loaded as many paintings as he could in a Susuki van, took them to a safe house and then returned to the hospital to inform the doctors. The stolen paintings are resurfacing for sale at regular frequency.
Global Recognition
Le MondeLe Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, France
Sadequain is one of the few serious artists from the subcontinent. The multiplicity of his gifts is reminiscent of Picasso
New York Times, USA
There is a new personality in art. Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
’s pride Upside Down Artist Sadequain
UAE News, UAE
His exhibition in Abu Dhabi has been seen by many people and most of the visitors who inspected his works wanted to buy them. “But the exhibits are not for sale” he told them
Dr. Akbar Naqvi, IMAGE AND IDENTITY
If Sadequain had done nothing but his drawings, he would still be among the inventors of modern art in the country
Death
Sadeqain died on February 10, 1987 in KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
at the age of 57. He is buried in Sakhi Hassan
Sakhi Hassan
Sakhi Hassan is one of the neighbourhoods of North Nazimabad Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.Sakhi Hasan is named as the shrine of a pious man Sakhi Hasan is there. There is another mazar of a pious man and famous poet Behzad Lakhnavi. This area is densely populated. The last stop of 2K bus is...
graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
.
Awards
- 1960 Tamgha-e-Imtiaz by government of PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. - 1961, Paris Biennale
- 1962 President’s Medal of HonorPride of PerformancePride of Performance , is one of the highest civil award given and conferred by the Pakistan Government to Pakistan's citizens in recognition of distinguished merit in the fields of Literature, Arts, Sports, Medicines, and Science for civilians in most particular cases.The announcement of civil...
- 1975 awarded "Cultural Award" by Government of AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
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- 1980 awarded "Sitara-e-Imtiaz" by government of PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
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Commemorative Stamp
On 14 August 2006, Pakistan PostPakistan Post
Pakistan Post is a state enterprise dedicated to providing wide range of postal products and public services in Pakistan. It is the largest postal service in the country...
issued a Rs. 40 sheetlet to posthumously honour 10 Pakistani Painters. Besides Sadequain, the other 9 painters are: Laila Shahzada
Laila Shahzada
Laila Shahzada is one of Pakistan's most internationally renowned artists. She was of the first women painters in Pakistan to gain international recognition, with exhibitions around the world including Pakistan, London, Paris, Tokyo, Monte Carlo and New York.-Honours:She was awarded the...
, Askari Mian Irani
Askari Mian Irani
-Early life and education:Irani received a diploma in design from the National College of Arts , Lahore in 1967.-Stamp design:Irani designed two stamps of the Third Organisation of the Islamic Conference issue....
, Zahoor ul Akhlaq
Zahoor ul Akhlaq
Zahoor ul Akhlaq was a pioneering artist from Pakistan. He is known for his approach to painting, sculpture, design and architecture, as well as his teaching at the NCA in Lahore....
, Ali Imam
Ali Imam
-Works:Immam has written more than 200 books, translated nearly 40. Child psychology, humanism and adventure is found in his writing. A simple style is available. Adventures, science fictions, stories related with historic events are the categories....
, Shakir Ali
Shakir Ali
Shakir Ali [ Urdu: شاکر على Shakir Ali [ Urdu: شاکر على Shakir Ali [ Urdu: شاکر على (1914–1975] was an influential modern Pakistani artist and art teacher. He was the principal of the National College of Arts in Lahore. He joined Mayo School of Art as Lecturer in Art in 1954 and after the...
, Anna Molka Ahmed
Anna Molka Ahmed
Anna Molka Ahmed was a famous Pakistani artist and pioneer of fine arts in the country after its independence in 1947. She was a professor of fine arts at the University of the Punjab in Lahore.-Background:...
, Zubeida Agha
Zubeida Agha
Zubeida Agha [ Urdu: زبىده آغا ] was the first Pakistani modern artist. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, she was the first artist to have an exhibition of her paintings. She helped bring the modern idiom to Pakistan.-Career:...
, Ahmed Pervez
Ahmed Pervez
Ahmed Parvez [ Urdu: احمد پروىز was a Pakistani modernist painter whose work was marked with energy. He was member of The Lahore Group in Pakistan and founder member of the Pakistan Group in London....
and Bashir Mirza
Bashir Mirza
Bashir Mirza PP, was a Pakistani painter.-Early life:Born in Amristar in 1941, a Tonga makers son, B.M. manage to climb the ladder to fame.-Education:...
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External links
Sadequain Institute Of Art & Information Technology (simsit)st-20 block 5 nipa chowrangi karachi phone-02134980928-03002629425
Principal/Administrator is Muhammad Zamir Ahmed