Sadequain Naqqash

 

There are a few artists in the world who got their art acknowledged by the world and fewer who left an endless mark behind them in the form of their art work.

 

Centuries after their departure from the world, artists are getting inspiration from their work. Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi is one such name that needs no introduction.

 

Also known as Sadequain Naqqash, he was a world known Pakistani painter, poet and calligrapher. He was born in June, 1923 and belonged to the family of calligraphers. He joined artists’ movement and the progressive writer movement in the 1940s and there started his journey of becoming the distinguished painter and calligrapher.

 

Inspired by the progressive and humanist ideas, his artwork depicts the quest that lies in man’s heart, his struggle against the evil in life and this, which he showed through the calligraphic work with a beautiful blend of art work. He painted the poetic verses of various famous poets like Ghalib, Faiz and Iqbal and gave the beautiful demonstrations of the verses with the art work.

 

 

Saying him a dervish, a Sufi, or a mystic cannot be the over exaggeration of this great man. He painted thousands of art work and did so many drawings and gave them to his admirers.

 

He had devoted his life for public, and he never demanded anything in return. He belonged to the realism school of thought. When one looks at his paintings and start getting the exposure to deeper meanings and his exceptional work, it seems like getting lost in the metaphoric gestures in his paintings. He used creative ways to express the great messages for humanity, only an artist’s eye can unveil the hidden messages given by his paintings.

 

Sadequain contribution towards art, literature and nature is beyond measure. His devotion to art is seen by his simple way of living. Despite the fact that he can earn a lot through his art, he never earned from his paintings, instead he donated all his paintings to mankind.

 

He wanted to die a simple death without any worldly possessions and materialistic things of the world. At the time of his death in 1887, he was penniless. Currently, his work is worth more than a billion dollars.

 

More than 15,000 paintings of Sadequain are available consisting of oil paintings, calligraphies, exquisite drawings and murals. He was a self made and self taught painter, prolific artist with God gifted talent, and was among the few Pakistani painters who get worldwide recognition and is counted as the greatest Pakistani painter ever.

 

When he was in Paris, he was given Laureate De Paris award in 1961 apart from the countless awards given to him in Pakistan including Sitara-e-Imtiaz. In Paris, he illustrated various publications, including Albert Camus’s “The Stranger” with black and white lithographs. The mesmerizing image was the perfect illustration of the main character that had many questions regarding religion and was restless. Like Vincent Van Gogh, he has the capability to put emotions and depict sensation of the situation in his work.