Lesson 1: Zainul Abedin, The Great Artist

![Image of Zainul Abedin in 1955]

Born: 29 December 1914
Kishoregonj, East Bengal, British India (now Bangladesh)

Died: 28 May 1976 (aged 61)
Dhaka, Bangladesh

Nationality: Bangladeshi

Education: Government Art School, Kolkata
Art School, London

Known for: Painting, drawing

Notable work:

• The Struggle
• Rebel cow
• Famine paintings
• Nobanno
• Study of a Crow
• Two faces

A Work in pairs and discuss the following questions.

1. Do you know this person? Why is he famous?
2. Can you name some of his world-famous sketches?

B Now read the text below and answer the following questions:

Zainul Abedin (29 December, 1914 - 28 May, 1976) was a Bangladeshi painter. He had an extraordinary talent and was internationally recognized for his paintings. He became well known in 1944 through his series of paintings on the great man-made famine in Bengal during British Colonial rule.

He played a vital role in the art movement in Bangladesh and was the founding Principal of the Government Institute of Arts (Now Faculty of Fine Arts) at University of Dhaka. His paintings on Bengal Famine are considered as his most characteristic works. His homeland honoured him with the title ‘Shilpacharya’, or the great teacher of arts for his artistic and visionary qualities. He was a pioneer of the modern art movement and was rightly considered as the founding father of Bangladeshi modern arts.

Abedin was born in Kishoregonj on 29 December, 1914. He spent most of his childhood near the scenic banks of the Brahmaputra River. The river and the open nature inspired him from his early life. The Brahmaputra later appeared in many of his paintings and remained a great source of inspiration throughout his career. As his tribute to the river Brahmaputra, he drew a series of water colour paintings in this regard. This helped him earn Governor’s Gold Medal in all India Exhibition in 1938. This was the first time when he came under spotlight and this award gave Abedin the confidence to create his own visual style.

Abedin got admitted to the Government School of Art in Calcutta (Now Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata, India). Here he learned European academic style for five years. Later he joined the faculty of the same school after his graduation. He was the first Muslim student to obtain ‘First Class’ with distinction from the school. In 1951, Zainul went to London to study at Slade School of Art for two years. From the dissatisfaction of oriental style and the limitations of European academic style, he was attracted to realism. After his return from London, he started a new style called ‘Bengali Style’. Later he realized the limitations of ‘Bengali Style’. Therefore, he went back to nature, rural life and the daily struggles of men to make art that would be realistic but modern in appearance.

In 1943, he painted a series of sketches on the man-made famine, which had spread throughout Bengal. The famine killed thousands of people. The devastating famine touched his heart. He used Chinese ink and brush and drew sketches of the devastations of the famine on cheap packing paper. The series of those sketches are known as ‘Famine Sketches’. Through those sketches, he drew the helplessness and deprivation of the poor people, their miseries and death without having food. He painted those starving people who were dying by the roadside. These sketches are his most remarkable works, which spread his name and fame around the world as a famous and humanitarian artist. Abedin not only documented the famine but also showed its sinister face through skeletal figures of people fated to die of starvation. He depicted the inhuman story with very human emotions. These drawings became iconic images of human sufferings. These sketches helped him to find his way into a realistic approach that focused on human sufferings, struggle and protest. Through a 65 feet scroll, he depicted the mass movement of 1969 and with a 30 feet scroll painting called ‘Monpura’; he showed the devastating cyclone of 1970 and the sufferings of the people. Through the later sketch, he remembered the people who died in that calamity.

In 1975, Zainul Abedin set up a folk museum at Sonargaon and a gallery in Mymensingh named Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Museum. He became actively involved in a movement to preserve the heritage of Bengal and reintroduce Bengal art from the roots of Bengali culture. He passed away on 28 May, 1976 in Dhaka.

Sources: Banglapedia and Wikipedia

Notable Artworks:

![Struggle]
Struggle

![Rebel Cow]
Rebel cow

![Rebel Crow]
Rebel crow

![Labourer Couple]
Labourer couple

![Famine Sketch]
Famine sketch

C Answer the following questions:

1. How did Zainul Abedin become famous?
2. What were the themes of his famous sketches?
3. Give information regarding his education.
4. How did river Brahmaputra influence his sketches?
5. After the failure of ‘Bengali style’, which style did he adopt for his sketches? Why?
6. Why is he called a humanitarian artist?

D Why did he establish the 'Folk Museum at Sonargaon' and 'Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Museum' at Mymensingh?

E Look at the pictures in the text. Work in group and talk about them. Then write briefly about what each picture portrays.

F Now write a paragraph on one of the pictures in the text. If necessary, take help from 'Google'.

G Write an email to your friend about your recent visit to 'Folk Museum at Sonargaon'.