Biren Shome

Biren Shome (; born 31 December 1948) is a Bangladeshi painter, draughtsman, illustrator, children's book author, and freedom fighter. He is considered one of the major painters of the 1960s generation in Bangladesh. Shome has worked in a variety of media including oil, acrylic, watercolour, pastel, and line drawing. He has exhibited widely in Bangladesh and abroad, and his works often explore themes of the Liberation War, the Language Movement, and the beauty and social life of Bangladesh.

Early life and education

Biren Shome was born on 31 December 1948 in Mymensingh District, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan (in the present-day Jamalpur District, Bangladesh).

He enrolled at the then College of Arts and Crafts (now the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka) in 1964 and completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1969. He studied under the guidance of Zainul Abedin, the founder of the institution. He was the youngest member of a six-person team led by Quamrul Hassan that created posters and paintings for the war effort.

Later career

For over thirty-five years, Shome worked as a senior artist and later chief artist at the Bangladesh National Herbarium until his retirement.

In 1985, he created a popular series of children's colouring books titled Esho, Chhobi Aki.

Artistic practice

Shome works across a range of media, including oil, acrylic, watercolour, pastel, line drawing, and collograph.