Renowned Pakistani painter Sadequain's 26th death anniversary observed on Sunday to pay tribute to this unique brain in Art. Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi was born in 1930 in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, India. He had a prolific career and much of his work is displayed in public places, PTV reported.
During his life, Sadequain became a cult figure with a large following from all walks of life. The content of his work has wider appeal, and the early works addressed social evils. Sadequain won recognition for his work at the 1961 Paris Biennale.
Sadequain used the unifying spirit of calligraphy to appeal to the masses. Sadequain was responsible for the renaissance of Islamic Calligraphy in Pakistan. He was one of the greatest calligraphers of his time who transformed the art of calligraphy into eye-catching expressionist paintings.
In Pakistan, the art of calligraphy was relegated to a second class status until Sadequain adapted this medium in the late 1960's. Sadequain also painted in bold form the poetic verses of Ghalib, Iqbal and Faiz, which illustrate his love for classical literature. He belonged to the school of thought, which enriched realism with lyricism.
Sadequain wrote 4,500 Rubayats (quartets) and published them. Sadequain is the only painter who has been copied openly and widely by many painters and even the copies fetch large sums to the copiers, an irony since the artist himself hardly ever sold his works in spite of offers coming from royals and the common public.
As an example, his masterpiece rendition of Sureh-e-Rehman has been copied widely by many known painters of the modern era.