This paper explores central questions around M.F. Husain’s practice, focusing on how he offered a... more This paper explores central questions around M.F. Husain’s practice, focusing on how he offered a possibility of what modern Indian art could be. Establishing his practice in 1947-48, Husain had to quickly grapple with questions of identity, as the concept of India as a nation had just been constructed. Gaining inspiration from a plethora of sources, from medieval Indian bronze sculptures, to modern Indian artists, Husain developed a modern Indian vocabulary. In this paper, I explore how he created this and what was available to him as a modern artist. I am interested in his position as a Muslim artist, and how later in his life certain themes and vocabularies became unavailable to him as the socio-politics of India changed. Exploring socio-political agents and actors, this anthropology of arts looks at a turning point in Indian history and how M.F. Husain engaged with and interpreted these changes, ultimately becoming one of most famous Indian artists.
This paper explores central questions around M.F. Husain’s practice, focusing on how he offered a... more This paper explores central questions around M.F. Husain’s practice, focusing on how he offered a possibility of what modern Indian art could be. Establishing his practice in 1947-48, Husain had to quickly grapple with questions of identity, as the concept of India as a nation had just been constructed. Gaining inspiration from a plethora of sources, from medieval Indian bronze sculptures, to modern Indian artists, Husain developed a modern Indian vocabulary. In this paper, I explore how he created this and what was available to him as a modern artist. I am interested in his position as a Muslim artist, and how later in his life certain themes and vocabularies became unavailable to him as the socio-politics of India changed. Exploring socio-political agents and actors, this anthropology of arts looks at a turning point in Indian history and how M.F. Husain engaged with and interpreted these changes, ultimately becoming one of most famous Indian artists.
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Vol. IV (2018 Essays)
constructed. Gaining inspiration from a plethora of sources, from medieval Indian bronze sculptures, to modern Indian artists, Husain developed a modern Indian vocabulary. In this paper, I explore how he created this and
what was available to him as a modern artist. I am interested in his position as a Muslim artist, and how later in his life certain themes and vocabularies became unavailable to him as the socio-politics of India changed. Exploring socio-political agents and actors, this anthropology of arts looks at a turning point in Indian history and how M.F. Husain engaged with and interpreted these changes, ultimately becoming one of most famous Indian artists.
constructed. Gaining inspiration from a plethora of sources, from medieval Indian bronze sculptures, to modern Indian artists, Husain developed a modern Indian vocabulary. In this paper, I explore how he created this and
what was available to him as a modern artist. I am interested in his position as a Muslim artist, and how later in his life certain themes and vocabularies became unavailable to him as the socio-politics of India changed. Exploring socio-political agents and actors, this anthropology of arts looks at a turning point in Indian history and how M.F. Husain engaged with and interpreted these changes, ultimately becoming one of most famous Indian artists.