Chughtai’s world of colours

Themes like Islamic history, Hindu mythology and Punjabi legends that dominated
Muhammad Abdul Rehman Chughtai’s paintings helped in establishing the historical
and cultural identity of the people, writes Dr Kanwarjit Singh Kang

Muhammad Abdul Rehman Chughtai (1894-1975) gave the message of religious harmony through the medium of his paintings when, during the 1920s and 1930s, he painted more than 200 Hindu and Buddhist subjects. His masterpieces include Dance of Shiva, Saint Tulsi Das, Temptation of Buddha, etc. Chughtai’s rendition of Anarkali in 1922 is one of the most famous paintings of the courtesan. The painting was used as a cover for Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj’s play ‘Anarkali’, a landmark in Urdu drama writing, later adopted into films in India and Pakistan. His painting of Radha and Krishna was sold by Sotheby’s for a record price of $56,400.

Chughtai, who was born in Lahore, began with making woodblocks in Gumti Bazaar, trained in tiles at the Wazir Khan mosque and received formal education at the Mayo School of Art (now the National College of Arts), Lahore. Then, he moved to Kolkata and worked there for several years. He began painting in the Bengal School style under the influence of Abandranath Tagore, a nephew of Rabindranath Tagore. Later, he studied etching at the School of Photoengraving at London.

In the 1920s, he started using watercolours in the Bengal School style and specialised in watercolour wash, in which he integrated the traditional Mughal painting techniques with the Japanese wash method. He painted elegant, elongated stylised figures with luscious, half-closed oriental eyes having erotic overtones, in a linear iconography. This was supported by a decorative background based mostly on Saracenic architecture, created in mellow colours and composed in carefully balanced soothing harmonies in a soft wash. This resulted in an ethereal ambience. This peculiar mode of painting was best known as "Chughtai Style of Art".

His diverse subject matter included heroes and heroines from the Islamic history and heritage, kings and queens, episodes from the Hindu mythology and Punjabi legends like Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnu and Sohni Mahiwal. By painting these themes in the colonial milieu, Chughtai played a constructive role in establishing the historical and cultural identity of people.

"These humble creations," commenting on his paintings he writes, "are redolent of those old days when we were making efforts to live and dream with the brethren of this land.... this background of my art should not be lost sight of."

His Muraqqe-e-Chughtai was published in 1828 with his famous illustrations transforming the poetry of the great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib into a fine piece of visual arts. The interpretation of contemplative and highly imaginative verses into lines and colours raised his status to an erudite painter. The philosophy and poetic images of Allama Iqbal were given a visual form in his Amal-e-Chughtai, published in 1968.

His personality as an artist was not confined to painting alone, rather he worked on a number of related graphic works. He was also an etcher, engraver, architect, calligrapher, naqash (decorative art), photographer, photo-lithographer, textile and jewellery designer. He also designed a number of postal stamps of Pakistan and logos of Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan. One of the best-selling Unicef cards features a Chughtai.

Before Partition, he was known as the greatest living artist of India. After Partition, he was officially recognised as the National Painter of Pakistan. The Government of India honoured him with the title of Khan Bahadur in 1934 and the Government of Pakistan conferred on him the Hilal-i-Imtiaz medal in 1959. Pablo Picasso wrote to his brother Dr Abdullah Chughtai: "Being a draftsman myself, I can highly appreciate this quality in the work of your brother, the painter M.A. Rehman Chughtai."

Chughtai’s works are scattered all over the world, more significantly at the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, London; United Nations Headquarters, New York; Kennedy Memorial, Boston; State Department, Washington DC; Peace Palace, The Hague; President’s House, Bonn; Queen Juliana’s Palace in Netherlands; Nizam of Hyderabad’s Palace; Emperor’s Palace, Bangkok; President’s House and National Art Gallery, Islamabad and National Museum, New Delhi.

At Lahore, the place of his birth and death, where his work contributed greatly to the vigorous modern art scene that was burgeoning in the pre-Partition days stands Chughtai Museum, managed by a trust and supervised by his son Arif Rehman Chughtai.

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