Page 311 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

308 ART AND CRAFTS

responsibilities were the supervision of a hand written
copy of the constitution and its ornamentation, and also
executing a line drawing for each chapter at the request
of the Bangladesh Government in the year 1972, taking
responsibility as the President of Bangla Academy, in
1973 participating in India as a representative in an
exhibition of contemporary fine arts of Bangladesh etc.
Alongside all this, he also had to continue the difficult
work of founding the Folk Art Museum at Sonargaon
and the Zainul Sangrahashala in Mymensingh. 103 Even
in the midst of all these activities, from 1972 he made an
effort to paint in a new form. The practice of this form
of art based on nature did not continue for long, but we
can ascertain Zainul’s awareness of contemporary world
art from this endeavor. In these paintings based on
nature there is no effort to present the material reality of
fig. 8.9 Two Faces, any particular event or scene; rather as long distance scenes the images are not easily
Brush drawing, 7 May, recognizable and have created a unified rhythmic atmosphere almost like Abstract
1976 Expressionist painting. In spite of the fact that they were painted in oil colors, the
movement of the brush is very spontaneous and the lines undulating and playful,
similar to the folk paintings of Bengal (pl. 8.8). Though there was a qualitative
development in this near abstract form, as they were not akin to his nature, in the end
he returned to strong figure dominated paintings full of life force constructed of bold
lines and at this stage he also applied oil paints with swiftness and spontaneity parallel
to the lines and imparted individuality to the media (pl. 8.1). Previously we have not
observed such facility in painting with oil colors over a large surface. At this stage in
some of the works the spontaneous application of colors and lines have been more
conducive in expressing the mental state of the artist. Particularly in the colors and
lines of some paintings executed by him after he was diagnosed with lung cancer his
104
mental agitation and uncertainty found expression. Yet no frustration about life could
gain permanent hold over his consciousness. Thus, just before his death 105 he has
presented the human face over the entire pictorial surface in an even more direct,
vibrant and forceful way (fig. 8.9). 106
‘The greatness of the phenomenon of Zainul is that he had created the style suitable for
his subject according to his own personality.’ 107 [Trans.] ‘He created his own pictorial
language without using the old one. It was in this language of painting that he connected
himself to the context of his time, society, country and generation. He touched the
heartstrings of his times through this language of painting. Playing on, the heartstrings
of the times he reached the innermost regions of the souls of people.’ [Trans.]
108
Tranalated by Kamaluddin Md. Kaiser, Writer, Dhaka