Calligraphy maestro Sadequain remembered
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ISLAMABAD: Calligraphy maestro Syed
Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi – commonly known as Sadequain was remembered on the occasion of his 87th birth anniversary.
He is considered as one of the finest painters and calligraphers Pakistan has ever produced.Sadequain was born on
June 30, 1923 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 Suhrawardy
who brought Sadequain into the limelight. He also spent some time
in Paris augmenting his skills.
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 Pakistani artists have followed Sadequain and calligraphic art now dominates the art scene.
The late artist was known for his Islamic calligraphy and paintings. He painted vast murals and even wrote powerful poetry. Despite his talent, Sadequain rejected material wealth and was known
to give his paintings away for free, even refusing to take on commissions from royalty and heads of state around the world.
Many of Sadequain’s prolific works still adorn walls of public buildings in Pakistan and India. These include `Quest for Knowledge’ on the ceiling of Lahore Museum and his mural on the ceiling of Frere Hall in Karachi.
He received national awards like the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and the Presidential Medal of Honor, besides receiving the Paris Biennale Prize in 1961.
Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi – commonly known as Sadequain was remembered on the occasion of his 87th birth anniversary.
He is considered as one of the finest painters and calligraphers Pakistan has ever produced.Sadequain was born on
June 30, 1923 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 Suhrawardy
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. Sadequain was responsible for the renaissance of Islamic calligraphy in Pakistan.
for his calligraphic style, which is widely considered iconic by many critics of South Asian art. Sadequain was responsible for the renaissance of Islamic calligraphy 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 Pakistani artists have followed Sadequain and calligraphic art now dominates the art scene.
The late artist was known for his Islamic calligraphy and paintings. He painted vast murals and even wrote powerful poetry. Despite his talent, Sadequain rejected material wealth and was known
to give his paintings away for free, even refusing to take on commissions from royalty and heads of state around the world.
Many of Sadequain’s prolific works still adorn walls of public buildings in Pakistan and India. These include `Quest for Knowledge’ on the ceiling of Lahore Museum and his mural on the ceiling of Frere Hall in Karachi.
He received national awards like the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and the Presidential Medal of Honor, besides receiving the Paris Biennale Prize in 1961.
