International - India & World   

Husain to explore Arab history through paintings

Dubai: Renowned artist Maqbool Fida Husain will explore the history of Islamic and pre-Islamic Arab world in a series of paintings revolving around three major religions of the world.

The Indian artist, living in self-imposed exile in the UAE, is currently working towards producing 99 paintings that will be part of his latest project, the Peninsula daily has reported.

“There will be 99 paintings as there are 99 Arabic names for God. However, it will not be only about Islamic history but also pre-Islamic, including Christianity, Judaism and mostly the Arab part of it,” he was quoted as saying.

Mr. Husain has been working on the project in Qatar, under the patronage of Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned for the last six months.

He will be using contemporary style of drawing because according to him “the visual form can be understood by anyone, even children.”

The paintings are proposed to be exhibited in London, Paris and many other major cities of the world, the daily said.

Mr. Husain, one of India’s highest paid artists, was forced to leave the country following protests and court cases against his depiction of Hindu deities in “derogatory forms.”

Asked about the criticism back home, he said his works belonged to the genre of modern art, which “people will take time to understand.” — PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Voter dilemma pronounced in Italy
Hu for fillip to ties with Taiwan
Move to block fraud probes in Britain
11 killed in Iran blast
Da Vinci’s mother was a slave?
The case for co-ed schools
Thailand may discuss rice issue with India
Husain to explore Arab history through paintings
2 Indians killed in U.S.
Indian workers in Bahrain end strike

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu