Zainul Abedin
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Zainul Abedin (Bangla: জয়নুল আবেদিন) (1914-1976) was an artist from Bangladesh. Like many of his contemporaries, he was born in undivided India, and lived through the creation of Pakistan and finally the emergence of independent Bangladesh. Abedin's paintings on the Bengal famine of 1940s is probably his most characteristic work. In Bangladesh, he is often referred to as Shilpacharya (Great Teacher of the Arts).
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[edit] Early life and education
Zainul Abedin was born in Mymensingh, East Bengal, on December 29, 1914. Much of his childhood was spent near the scenic banks of the Brahmaputra River. The Brahmaputra would later appear in many of his paintings and be a source of inspiration all throughout his career. In 1933, Abedin was admitted to Calcutta Government Art School in Kolkata. He joined the faculty of the school after his education there was completed. A series of watercolours that Zainul did as his tribute to the Brahmaputra River earned him the Governor's Gold Medal in an all-India exhibition in 1938. This award gave Abedin the confidence to create his own visual style.
[edit] Famine Paintings
The man-made Great Bengal Famine of 1943 moved Zainul deeply. He created his famine paintings, which, when exhibited in 1944, brought him even more critical acclaim. He was an influential member of the Calcutta Group of progressive artists.
[edit] Abedin in Liberation Movement
Zainul Abedin was involved in all stages of the movement that finally made the creation of Bangladesh possible. He was in the forefront of the cultural movement to re-establish the Bengali identity, marginalised by the Pakistan government. In 1969, Abedin painted a scroll using Chinese ink, watercolour and wax named Nobanno. This was to celebrate the ongoing non-cooperation movement.
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[edit] Post-Independence Era
In 1975, he founded the Folk Art Museum at Sonargaon, near Dhaka, and Zainul Abedin Sangrahashala, a gallery of his own works in Mymensingh. Abedin developed lung cancer towards the end of his life and died on May 28, 1976 in Dhaka. Two faces was his last painting, painted shortly before his demise. In 1982, 17 of the 70 pictures housed in Zainul Abedin Sangrahashala were stolen. Only 10 were later recovered.
