ISLAMABAD: The 38th death anniversary of famous painter Abdur Rahman Chughtai was observed today (January 17).
Abdur Rahman Chughtai was a famous painter of Pakistan who is well known for his unique and distinctive painting style influenced by Mughal art, miniature painting, Art Nouveau and Islamic art traditions.
He is considered 'the first significant modern Muslim artist from South Asia and the national artist of Pakistan.
He was given the title of Khan Bahadur in 1934, awarded Pakistan's Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 1960, and the Presidential medal for Pride of Performance in 1968.
He was born in Lahore in the area known as 'Mohalla Chabuk Sawaran', the second son of Karim Bukhsh, in a family descended from generations of craftsmen, architects, and decorators. Chughtai briefly learnt naqqashi from his uncle Baba Miran Shah Naqqash at a local mosque.
In 1916, Chughtai's first painting in a revivalist 'oriental' style appeared in the Modern Review. He had his first exhibition in 1920 at the Punjab Fine Art Society.
In his sixty years of artistic creation, Chughtai produced nearly 2000 watercolors, thousands of pencil sketches, and nearly 300 etchings and aquatints. He also wrote short stories and articles on art. He designed stamps, coins, insignia and book covers.
He was also an avid collector of miniatures and other art. He published three books of his own work: the Muraqqai-i-Chughtai, Naqsh-i-Chughtai and Chughtai's Paintings.
After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Chughtai came to be regarded as one of the most famous representatives of Pakistan. Chughtai's paintings were gifted to visiting heads of states. Allama Iqbal, Pablo Picasso, Elizabeth II were amongst his admirers.
Chughtai's closest associate was his younger brother Abdullah Chughtai, a scholar and researcher of Islamic art. Chughtai married twice, and had two children, a son and daughter.
He died in Lahore on January 17, 1975.
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