Page 11 - M F Husain The Eternal Master

further shape his intricate and symbolic representation of
horses in his paintings.
Husain’s artistic inclinations led him to dabble in
various odd jobs, but his father recognised his son’s talent. To
encourage him towards a more sustainable career, his father

even gifted him a camera. However, painting remained
Husain’s true calling. During the day, he would cycle through
the countryside to make landscapes and would sketch scenes
from films during the night. This experience of on-the-spot
and sketching from memory helped Husain develop good

retentive skills. It was during one of these field trips that
Husain witnessed artist N.S. Bendre painting en plein-air.
Husain with his daugther Aqueela (centre) and grandchildren Khadeija, Bendre was then already known and respected as a painter
Rakshanda, and Ali Hasan
in Indore. He was also teaching at the Indore School of Arts.
Husain was fascinated by Bendre’s technique, colours

and rural motifs. He started accompanying Bendre on his
journeys and this is how Maqbool found his first mentor.
Bendre also recognized Husain’s extraordinary talent and
convinced his father to let him pursue art.
Around 1932, Husain enrolled in evening classes at
the Indore School of Arts but spent just about a year there.

While his time there allowed him to refine his skills and
understanding of the mediums, he also began to realise
that painting was not merely a matter of creating lifelike
images. He discovered that painting was a portal to a world

that transcended words, enabling artists to communicate
their emotions and ideas intuitively. But this was only the
beginning of Maqbool Fida Husain’s remarkable artistic
odyssey, one that would take him on a path of exploration,
innovation and international acclaim.

BEGINNING IN BOMBAY

Husain at Pundole Art Gallery with the painting Spider and the Lamp
A year after leaving the Indore School of Arts, Husain joined
A photo of Husain with his wife Fazila the Bombay’s Sir J. J. School of Art in 1934. Yet this promising

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