Iqbal Hussain is amongst those artists in Pakistan who can be proudly placed in the league of universally acclaimed practitioners of art. In fact, it is one’s heartfelt opinion that if any artist has created the kind of paintings that are reminiscent of old time greats such as Vincent van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas or Toulouse Lautrec, that artist is Iqbal Hussain. Not only the painterly skill and sincerity of his work, but even his life story is no less moving than the aforementioned. He has been true to his innermost nature, stripped of all social pretensions and has been almost painfully intense and honest in his approach to life.

I clearly remember the time when many years ago, his oil paintings depicting the women of the ‘Red Light’ district, the courtesans of Lahore, where he happened to be born and bred, were disallowed from being exhibited at Lahore’s Alhamra Gallery. Hussain, nonetheless, decided to exhibit on the footpath, and this event in itself became a ‘breaking news’ in the art world of Pakistan, propelling him later to international fame. This painful rejection of his art, and that too when he was a master painter, was only because of the supposed ‘impropriety’ of his subject.

‘Respectable’ citizens were not allowed to view the portraits of these ‘brazen women’ who sold themselves just to make money. Their human side or painful problems were not the concern of the state, only ‘propriety’ and the promotion of ‘virtue’ were what the state thought fit to be made visible. It was not their concern that Hussain painted these women because they were part and parcel of who he was, and he did it almost dispassionately, actually capturing unglamourised reality as he saw it. He was not trying to intellectualise, promote a viewpoint, or even make socio-political comments in the way some artists do. He was simply painting what came naturally to him and which was a subject that he wanted to paint irrespective of whether or not anybody wanted to buy his work, or whether or not it was befitting for their drawing rooms. What better qualification could there be for an artist, than to be both skillful and true to himself? Apparently, many still think otherwise.

Iqbal Hussain is a compassionate artist who has opened the shutters of his world to a reluctant ‘other’. He is also a chronicler of our times and paints new emerging realities. At the end of the day, the artist’s

work is an affirmation of life and an intense retort to those people who have acquired the role of judges of morality writes Saira Dar

Social acceptability for an artist like Iqbal Hussain still continues to be an issue, that must pain him, despite the fame and fortune that has come to him over the years, thanks to his own perseverance and the support of a few perceptive individuals. Even though he is now internationally famous, and was also working as a professor at the National College of Arts, the stigma associated with his social background continues amongst many of those who portray themselves as ‘respectable’.

Self-portrait

Hussain, whose nickname is “Cuckoo” even has a restaurant of this name in the enchanting ‘Food Street’ in Lahore’s old city precincts, and in fact, his eatery was the first of its kind in this area. Embracing both the bygone and officially sealed ‘Red Light’ area, as well as the beautiful and imposing Badshahi Mosque, the area is now an openly popular haunt for even the elite, celebrities and foreigners. While the ‘old is gold’ adage is being flaunted, and even being successfully capitalised upon, a lot of this old world is actually dead and gone.

Indeed, new endeavours have granted a bedazzling character to the place where the artist resides. Even “Cuckoos” has become an ornate shrine of sorts for Hussain and his art, exhibiting not only his work, but also his collection of artefacts, memorabilia, photographs and what not.

Even now quite obviously, Hussain still has to bear with his own personal pain and struggle. He is still subject to people’s narrow view of who is a socially acceptable individual and who is not. This way of life is what makes people like Hussain bitter, and even reclusive. Indeed, the tables have turned and he is still an all famous, sought after artist by many amongst the rich and powerful.

Luckily for them, Hussain also likes to go towards the River Ravi nearby and paint landscapes, the most popular genre in Punjab. Even though they are less powerful in their impact, as the Ravi is also dreadfully polluted now, these works nonetheless form an important part of his painterly output, and are sold well. The profits it is said are used to sustain the old and ailing, out-of-job women of the area.

Hussain’s landscapes

Hussain unfortunately, suffered a brain haemorrhage a couple of years ago. His spokesperson said that he never had his medical checkups and doctors said he must have been suffering from hypertension for a while which resulted in the aforementioned condition. Even though he is said to have recovered well since then, he has become considerably reclusive and does not want interaction with people especially from the media. Finally, it can be said that Iqbal is now ‘King of His Castle’ and he obviously doesn’t need or desire any more publicity.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, September 6th, 2015

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