Sayed Haider Raza

Sayed Haider Raza, also known as S. H. Raza, was one of the most celebrated Indian artists of the 20th century. He was a founding member of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group, which aimed to break away from the academic realism of colonial art and create a new modernist language for Indian art. He was influenced by both Indian and Western traditions, and experimented with various styles and techniques throughout his career. Raza was born in 1922 in Kakkaiya, a small village in Madhya Pradesh, where he spent his childhood surrounded by nature. He developed an interest in drawing at an early age, and received encouragement from his uncle who was a court painter. He moved to Nagpur for his secondary education, and then to Mumbai where he enrolled at the Sir J. J. School of Art. There he met fellow artists like F. N. Souza, M. F. Husain, K. H. Ara and H. A. Gade, who later formed the Progressive Artists' Group with him in 1947. Raza's early works were mainly expressionistic landscapes and townscapes, inspired by his travels across India and his memories of his native place. He also painted religious and social themes, such as Mother Teresa, Gandhi and the Partition of India. In 1950, he received a scholarship to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he was exposed to the works of European masters like Cézanne, Matisse and Picasso. He also met Henri Cartier-Bresson, who advised him to focus on construction and geometry in his paintings. Raza's style gradually evolved from expressionism to abstraction, as he explored the concepts of space, time and light through geometric forms and vibrant colors. He was particularly fascinated by the bindu, or the dot, which he considered as the origin of creation and the symbol of cosmic energy. He incorporated the bindu in many of his paintings, along with other elements derived from Indian philosophy, such as the panchatatva (five elements), the nava-graha (nine planets), and the chakra (wheel). He also used Sanskrit words and mantras as titles for his works. Raza lived and worked in France for most of his life, but maintained a strong connection with India. He visited India regularly, and participated in several exhibitions and events in his homeland. He also supported young Indian artists through scholarships and awards. He married Janine Mongillat, a French artist, in 1959, and they remained together until her death in 2002. In 2010, he decided to return to India permanently, and settled in Delhi. Raza received many honors and accolades for his artistic achievements, both in India and abroad. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1981, the Fellowship of the Lalit Kala Akademi in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2007, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2013 by the Government of India. He was also conferred with the Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur (the Legion of Honour) by the French government in 2015. His paintings have been exhibited widely across the world, and have fetched record prices at auctions. His work Saurashtra sold for ₹16.42 crore ($3.5 million) at a Christie's auction in 2010. Raza passed away on July 23, 2016, at the age of 94, in Delhi. He was cremated in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh, where he was born. He left behind a rich legacy of modern Indian art, and a profound vision of the universal harmony of forms and colors.