Today's Doodle celebrates the 100th birthday of one of
India's most renowned and multifaceted artists, M.F. Husain, who passed away June 9th, 2011, at the age of
95.
Maqbool
Fida Husain, commonly known as M.F. Husain, has been called "The Picasso
of India.” This was partly due to his modernist, slightly cubist paintings and
to the sheer volume of work he produced. His middle name, Fida, can be
translated as “obsessed” or “devoted,” which could also describe his approach
to making art.
Husain’s first love was cinema and he originally set out to
become a film director in Bombay. But in order to make a living, he got a job
painting film billboards and making toys. Painting soon became his passion, and
inspired by the changes in India in the late 1940s, he helped found The
Progressive Artists Group of Bombay (PAG). He and his fellow artists attempted
to address Indian themes, culture and people in a modern way and bring Indian
art to an international audience. Husain became particularly known for his
energetic painting of horses and serial depictions of classic narratives such
as the Mahabharata.
Eventually the recognition and acclaim he received from his
early paintings led him back to cinema. With funding from the government of
India, he wrote and directed his first film, Through the Eyes of a Painter.
The success of that first film led to film projects and a close relationship
with cinema that he would maintain throughout the rest of his life. Still he
continued to paint, make prints, take photos and find new themes and ideas to
explore. He was ever restless, ever prolific and energized by the world around
him.
As he said in a television interview in 2010, "What is this physical
presence? In today's world with so much technology and communication you are
everywhere and a creative person is not bound by any geography." This
doodle celebrates Husain's unapologetic devotion to beauty, people, and the
world.
