Syed Haider Raza, who passed away over the weekend, remained obsessed with his paintings till the end of his life. His works were reflective of his love for India. Team Viva shares memories with artists
At first look, it’s the simplicity and pensiveness that draw you to his paintings. Syed Haider Raza, who passed away at the age of 94, perpetuated the Indian concept of bindu in the most modernist interpretations. He was, for the last few years, the only living member of the legendary Progressive Artists Group and is known for his signature motifs of dots, triangles and circles that fan across his canvas in the shades of red, blue, black, orange and yellow. His colours were reflective of his Hindu approach and in-depth knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanishads. Born in Mandala district of Madhya Pradesh, he began drawing at the age of 12. He travelled from Nagpur to Mumbai and then finally to Paris, taking his art to different heights and giving them a subtle meaning. He joined JJ School of Art, before moving to Paris in October 1950 to study at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts on a French government scholarship. In the 1940s, he projected himself as a nature-based artist, painting landscapes and townscapes. But later his inclination moved towards abstracts and the dot, the core of our existence so to speak. One of the reasons he moved towards the dot was his primary school teacher who, on finding him distracted, asked him to focus on a blob on the blackboard so that his concentration could became better.
Though belonging to the Progressives, his paintings cannot be compared either with FN Souza or the provocative artworks of MF Husain. In 1947, he founded the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group and portrayed himself as a rebel who dared to challenge the then existing art establishment. There was a sense of harmony and realism in his works. His canvas was a kind of tutorial for young and amateur artists. For him art was never meant for money but rather a sheer expression of love and his thoughts. But his works fetched good money. For example, Saurashtra went for Rs 15.9 crore. His la Terre sold for a record $2.5 million in london. One of the most significant works from Raza’s works in Paris was called Village with Church in 1958.
Raza’s artworks have a diversified Indian modernity, taking inspiration from Hindu philosophy, spirituality and taking colours and forms from folk art. He studied Indian primitive art, visited the caves of Ajanta and Ellora, the miniature paintings and tried to infuse his paintings with their influences. So though he stayed for decades in Paris, his artworks were undeniably Indian. In essence and spirit.
Alka Raghuvanshi
Raza’s work is replete with an amazing meditative quality that sets him apart. The philosophy behind his seemingly undemanding geometric formations as they beckon the onlooker to delve deeper makes his work appealing to a global audience. The triangle or the tribhuja and the bindu or circle set in the perfect square is backed by an entire spiritual quest into perfection of art, aesthetics and an intellectual journey into balance, taking the abstract route. This is not to say that he didn’t explore the figurative or the landscape. The landscapes that he painted during his Europe sojourn have a wistful and almost haunting quality, capturing the mystical light and shadows of light in different seasons. He had varied interests like poetry and music. He supported and appreciated several poets. His own personal attitude too was charming and genial and almost old world in its sensitivity. Ever willing to support newcomers, he set up a foundation for that very purpose.
Sanjay Bhattacharya
I mett Raza for the first time in 1988 at the Carma art gallery located in Mehrauli. He was invited for the inauguration of the show and was impressed by water colour works. What I most liked about his works was that usually abstract painters are not good with drawings and realistic works but he was a master of all. He used to do landscapes and gradually shifted to abstract and he had a closer look at Indian culture and aesthetics. Symbols like the bindu, mandala, naga, prakriti, purusha and panchtatwa emerged in his work. He started doing circles or bindu at a later stage and I still recall one of his grey circles that I saw ten ago at the National Gallery of Modern Art. He had used blue and lemon yellow within the circle that gave a sublime look to the paintings. Certain times he used to give minimum tonal variations and that made his works remarkable and different from others. For example, only in Raza’s works can you find a grey circle on the top of black background. And though there was less contrast, his works were appealing and clear. Despite his move towards abstraction, and later, towards tantrism, he never abandoned his primary genre-landscape.
Alka Pande
He was really a generous man. When I met him in Paris about 15 years ago, he immediately suggested going out for dinner. There was a restaurant below his apartment where he used to go. His artwork is unique in its own way as he was the one who painted landscapes with geometric abstractionism that is truly rare to see.
Payal Kapoor, owner of Arushi Arts
We have had a very long association with Raza. I have known him from the time I started my gallery in 1993. Despite being in Paris, he took his work to another level with his spiritual connotations and yet made it look international with his use of colours. He was very sweet and jovial. I was in my 20s when I met him. He always had a smile on his face. It was amazing to see the kind of patience he had and I still remember when my daughter did a book, 16 conversations by 16 artists, for a college project, he explained everything to her with such patience. He was one of the nicest people we know and he did a lot for the Indian artist community. The Raza Foundation supports so many poor artists. He was always a people’s man and he took abstraction to another level. We lost a master. Artists like him have done so much for Indian art. He was a very amazing man and his legacy will remain forever.
Manu Parekh
I met Raza in 1958 at JJ School of Arts. He was a great artist. His works moved from landscape painting to expressionism, to be succeeded by cubist paintings, which then led to abstractions, abstract expressionism and post-painterly abstractions. About eight years ago, we were in Paris together and I still remember the memorable time we spent together discussing meticulously about art works. After the encounter with Cartier-Bresson, though, he became obsessed with the idea of travelling to Paris. He was always attracted towards Paris as compared to other countries and used to spend hours in museums and galleries there and doing research on the works created by other artists. It’s difficult to find a person with such a passion for his work. Raza has spent his entire life in search for the modern Indian.
GR Iranna
I regard him as my teacher. Twenty years ago, I used to study his artworks like a textbook, imbibing each and every minute detail. I am a great admirer of his grey series. He was among the few artists who had such a deep understanding of Indian mythology, Upanishads and Vedas. He used to read Bhagwad Gita and his paintings were reflections of his readings. Whenever I met him, I felt positive vibes emanating from him. In recent years, he used to speak very less but earlier talking to him was like going through the textbook of arts. A deeply-rooted philosopher.