Quamrul Hassan (1921-1988) was a Bangladeshi
artist. Hassan was born in Kolkata, India.
In Bangladesh, Hassan's fame as an artist
is perhaps only second to that of Zainul
Abedin. Hassan is often referred to in
Bangladesh as Potua, a word usually associated
with folk artists, due to his down to
earth style. In addition of his artistic
legacy, two of Hassan's work have come
to be part of Bangladesh's political history.
The first of this is a monstrous rendiiton
of Yahya Khan, the Pakistani president
who ordered genocide in Bangladesh. The
second was just before his death, mocking
the then dictator of Bangladesh, Hossain
Mohammad Ershad. This skecth was titled
Desh aaj bisshobeheyar khoppre (Our land
is now in the hand of the champion of
shamelessness).
Biography
Nayar, a painting by Hassan
Hassan was born in Kolkata, where his
father, Muhammad Hashim, was superintendent
of the a local Graveyard. Quamrul Hassan
studied at Calcutta Model ME School, Calcutta
Madrasa ana later in the Government Institute
of Arts, also in Kolkata. He graduated
in Fine Arts in 1947. Hassan was very
interested in physical exercise and in
1945 became the Bengal champion in a physical
exercise competition. During the Pakistan
movement, he became involved with it like
many other muslim young men of the time.
Quamrul Hassan's tomb beside Dhaka University
campus mosque
After the Partition of India, Quamrul
Hassan came to Dhaka which was then the
capital of the eastern part of the newly
founded Pakistan. Together with Zainul
Abedin, he established the Government
Institute of Fine Arts (at present, the
Institute of Fine Arts) in 1948. Politically
active with leftist inclinations, Hassan
was involved in the long political process
that led to the creation of independent
Bangladesh. He partook in the non-cooperation
movement against Ayub Khan in 1969. During
liberation war he served as the Director
of the Art Division of the Information
and Radio Department of the Bangladesh
Government in exile. He also designed
the Flag of Bangladesh.
Hassan died in February 2, 1988 after
suffering a massive heart attack while
attending the National Poetry Festival.
He was buried beside the central mosque
of the University of Dhaka.
Art
Hassan's rendition of Yahya Khan in a
Liberation war poster
Quamrul Hassan chose to give the folk
art tradition a breath of life by incorporating
modern ideas in it. Hassan was a versatile
artist working in practically all media-oil,
gouache, watercolors, pastel, etching,
woodcut, linocut, pen and pencil. He also
worked with woodcuts, specially after
the famine of 1974, works that expressed
his rage and anger. Quamrul used snakes,
jackal, owl to portray the evil in humans,
both in his polictical work and his famine
work.
Rural women and their plight is another
theme Hassan has repeatedly worked on.
His treatment of women emphasize the bond
between them, most of his paintings of
women are of a group of women, only rarely
a solo painting can be found. However,
he mizes romanticism with realism; the
strong curved lines and the contrasted
use of color contribute to a sensuous
appeal that blunts the edges of harsh
reality.
Awards
" President's Gold Medal (1965)
" Independence Day Award (1979)
" Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad
Honour (1984)
http://en.wikipedia.org/
