Bombay: Sayed Haider Raza

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It’s almost 12 months since legendary painter Sayed Haider Raza passed away (23 July 2016, aged 94 years). He popularised Indian concepts, such as ‘bindu’, ‘purush-prakriti’ and ‘nari’ and built a legacy of modern art.

S. H. Raza (1922-2016) – Source: Hindustan Times

Raza moved to Bombay in 1943, studying at the J J School of Art, before he co-founded the revolutionary Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group. His later work was more abstract, but in his earlier days Raza painted expressionistic landscapes and townscapes, inspired by the busy metropolis of Bombay.

Monsoon in Bombay, by S. H. Raza – source: Rare Books Society of India

His work captures the diverse and sporadic moods of the city, which arguably remain an accurate depiction of contemporary Mumbai as they were of Bombay in the 1940s and 1950s.

An interesting post on Raza’s life and work, Before the ‘Bindu’, there was Bombay, with images of his paintings, begins:

“One of India’s leading modernists, Sayed Haider Raza is best known for the iconic bindu, which was the predominating element in his art later in his career. Through “the seed bearing the potential of all life,” he explored his spiritual quest for understanding profound concepts of Hindu metaphysics.

But before the bindu, there was Bombay.”

Read more at: Saffronart

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