Sadequain

Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi (30 June 1930 10 February 1987), and often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash ("Sadequain the Painter"), was a Pakistani artist and poet best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a painter. He is considered one of the finest painters and calligraphers Pakistan has ever produced, having painted around 15,000 paintings. He was also a poet, writing hundreds of rubāʿiyāt in the style of Omar Khayyam and Sarmad Kashani.

Early life Sadequain was born on 30 June 1930 in Amroha, into an educated Shia family who considered calligraphy a valuable skill. The artist claimed to own seven Qurans calligraphed by his ancestors and family. He migrated to Pakistan with his family during the 1947 partition, residing in the Nazimabad neighbourhood of Karachi. In the late 1940s he joined the Progressive Writers' and Artists Movement. He was supported by politician Huseyn Suhrawardy .

Sadequain was part of a broader Islamic art movement, known as the Hurufiyya movement, which emerged independently across North Africa and parts of Asia in the 1950s. Hurufiyah refers to the attempt by artists to combine traditional art forms, notably calligraphy as a graphic element within a contemporary artwork. Hurufiyah artists rejected Western art concepts, and instead searched for a new visual languages that reflected their own culture and heritage. These artists successfully transformed calligraphy into a modern aesthetic, which was both contemporary and indigenous. Prior to Sadequain's work, only a few painters had experimented with the medium in Pakistan. Sadequain is a pioneer of the style, bringing calligraphy into a mainstream art form, and influencing subsequent generations of Pakistani artists.

Murals

Sadequain was a social commentator, and preferred to paint on public buildings instead of private ones that were owned by the wealthy. He did not like the idea that if he was painting for the wealthy, then his art would only be enjoyed by a small percentage, leaving out all of the public. His murals are densely filled and tightly packed with images to render adequately the lofty subject. As a master muralist some of his works adorn the halls of: The State Bank of Pakistan (100 x 12 ft) Aligarh Muslim University (70 x 12 ft) Banaras Hindu University (70 x 12 ft) and Geological Institute of India (70 x 25 ft) Frere Hall Karachi Powerhouse at Abu Dhabi Punjab University Library

His monumental murals, in excess of thirty-five, adorn the halls of State Bank, Frere Hall Karachi; Lahore Museum; Punjab University; Mangla Dam; Aligarh Muslim University; Banaras Hindu University; Indian Institute of Geological Sciences; Islamic Institute in Delhi, and Abu Dhabi Power House, among others. His paintings and calligraphies in the building of the Islamic Institute in Delhi alone cover more than seven thousand square feet. Sadequain painted his earliest murals at Jinnah Hospital and PIA headquarters in the 1950s. These murals have disappeared and their fate is unknown.

In 1961 he painted a huge mural (62'X10') in the Head Office of the State Bank of Pakistan in Karachi, titled "Treasures of Time," in which he showed the intellectual advance of man from the times of Socrates to that of Iqbal and Einstein. It is a linear creation that shows a pageant of intellectuals and thinkers of the Greek era, mathematicians and chemists of the Middle East, scholars of the European Renaissance, and 20th-century laureates. This large mural has endured transportation from the State Bank to Mohatta Palace (for the exhibition The Holy Sinner), and back to State Bank and has deep scars to prove the ordeal.

Sadequain painted the ceiling of the Lahore museum entrance hall, depicting the Evolution of Mankind, and additional nine large panels of calligraphies for the Islamic Gallery. The ceiling spans approximately 100 x . The Panjab government has recently allocated money for the restoration of the mural. which was in response to what was happening politically with Pakistans military campaigning. The interviewer went on to ask Sadequain if they were a communist and he responded with "If Communism means that people have the right to clothe themselves, if they are able to eat and get shelter- well then I am a communist." 1970 – One-man show 1970 – Produced a masterpiece collection of rubaiyyat, which was adjudged for first prize by the Literary Society of Pakistan. Sadequain privately published book of rubaiyyat; Rubaiyyat-e-Sadequain Naqqash. 1973 – Murals in Lahore Museum is a tribute and celebration of this Pakistani artist's vitality, innovation, restless fervor and immense amount of energy. This book launched as the third stage of a monumental project with the same title is possibly the largest art project in the sub-continent to pay tribute to a single artist under the aegis of Mohatta Palace Museum. The first stage of the project was an exhibition of paintings of Sadequain under the same title and the second stage of the project; a black and white catalogue of Sadequain's work was launched last year. The fourth stage of the project will consist of four documentaries; both in Urdu and English language and one special feature film would be produced about the internationally recognised artist.

In 2015, Sadequain's 'Qalandar' was sold for $173,000 at Christie's.

In 2017, Sadequain's ‘Crucifixion’ made history for Pakistan after it was sold for £118,750 at Bonhams.

Death

Sadequain died on 10 February 1987 at Karachi, Pakistan at the age of 56. He is buried in Sakhi Hassan Graveyard in Karachi. 1961 – Government of France – Biennale de Paris Award 2000 – Sadequain Institute of Arts & Information Technology established 2021 - Government of Pakistan - Posthumous Nishan-i-Imtiaz

Commemorative stamp On 14 August 2006, Pakistan Post issued a Rs. 40 sheetlet to posthumously honour 10 Pakistani Painters. Besides Sadequain, the other 9 painters are: Laila Shahzada, Askari Mian Irani, Zahoor ul Akhlaq, Ali Imam, Shakir Ali, Anna Molka Ahmed, Zubeida Agha, Ahmed Pervez and Bashir Mirza.