Epic portraits: Nirmala Birla Modern Art Gallery dedicates a week to artist Iqbal Hussain

Huge portraits of scenes from Hindu mythology stand on the lower deck of the Nirmala Birla Modern Art Gallery. But what catches your eye is the half-finished painting of a scene from Ramayana. Because it was during this work that artist Iqbal Hussain passed away in 1992 and now his incomplete art piece just waits. In a bid to showcase the work of an artist whom not many know, the art gallery is celebrating Iqbal Hussain week. And close to 40 of his artworks are on display.

“Iqbal Hussain loved to work on Hindu mythology. The artist was known to create various scenes from the two epics and he took great care to deliver,” says assistant-curator, Shakuntala.
Sadly, not much of the artist’s life has been documented. “The artist moved to Hyderabad from New Delhi during the reign of Salar Jung. He worked for Salar Jung and after his death he was known to work for Azam Jha, the eldest son of the Nizam,” she informs.

Iqbal always paid attention to detail and that is visible in his work. “Most of his works have lots of people in them, for instance the last scene of the Mahabharata, where there are at least a hundred faces. But, not one of the faces are similar. From worry to relief, no two faces share the same expression,” she says.

The artist worked on a sheet of drawing paper and used pencils to sketch. He would then paint using water colours. “Iqbal painted important scenes from Hindu mythology, but with the Ramayana he worked in a series. Each artwork depicted one episode, and each episode was divided into blocks that told a story,” Shakuntala explains.

Apart from working on drawing paper, Iqbal also painted on porcelain and ivory using oil paints. “The detailing in his work always surprises people,” says Shakuntala.In the later years of Iqbal’s life, after the death of Azam Jha the artist had apparently moved to Irram Manzil, now known as Erram Manzil, where he worked on his own. There is no known family of the artist and it is believed that he died doing what he loved best painting.