Painted Head
Amin Chughtai and his Water Color Paintings
Amin Chughtai, whose reputation has been enhanced by his many exhibitions, is one of the foremost Mogul artists living outside the Indo-Pakistan Sub Continent. Strongly influenced by the Persian – Arabic School, he has shown repeatedly, and in watercolors too, a magical, and what we Europeans would describe as, an almost uncanny ability to express modern concepts and problems in the mysticism of the past.
His Early Life
Born in Lahore, Pakistan in 1943, Amin Chughtai was greatly influenced and inspired by his environment and cultural background. His devotion to art started very early in life, and already by the age of twelve he knew that he would one day devote his entire life to the development of modern Indo-Pakistani art. His studies at school, college and later at university, did not stop him from painting, neither did they prevent the evolution of thoughts which made him want to demonstrate to the world, that even modern art could not influence him or his work. His period of study was difficult.
The constant conflict between the actual world and the world of his thoughts was ever present and made it difficult for him to choose his path of action. Should he complete his studies and earn a respectable living, or cling to his world of thoughts and paint? Amin Chughtai chose to do the latter. In 1966 he left his studies in Fine Arts at the University of the Punjab and set out for England. From that day onwards he was determined to serve his art as far as it was possible to do so. He worked, and during his spare time, he painted.
During this period, his struggle against the influence of modern European art did not end. Amin Chughtai loves his culture and traditions and again and again demonstrates this in his beautiful paintings. He is an adherent to the old school of Mogul art.
Painting Background
It is absolutely essential for me to give you a brief introduction to Indian/Mogul art, or to small part of it. It is an almost impossible task to give you even an outline of Asian culture and a survey of miniature paintings in India and Pakistan – which is the field in which Amin Chughtai excels, with his gift of representing a contour in miniature to perfection.
Although it was already known and appreciated earlier, Indian/Mogul art was discovered in the Twentieth century. Previously, it had been appreciated as a localized, ethnic phenomenon – characteristic of Indian folk tradition. The great works of Indian art to be found in the sculptures in buildings and temples, in rock carvings and in the Islamic influences in the mosques with their ornaments, designs and architectural layouts. This is a drawback for Indian/Mogul art because it means that its suitability for museum display is limited. It will be obvious even to the most cursory viewer of objective relief and paintings, that Indian/Mogul art reflects femininity. If anywhere in the world, woman holds prime place over man; it is to be seen in the number of representations, the artistic quality of composition and importance of the message conveyed, in the Indian/Mogul art.
One might be tempted to define Indian/Mogul art as a feminine art, even though the majority of the artists were in fact men. However, I shall confine myself solely to that portion of Indian/Mogul art which belongs to the field of miniatures – the field to which my friend and artist Amin Chughtai has devoted himself, and from which he has created his own style of paintings.
At first glance, the paintings of Amin Chughtai radiate charm, an unfading magic, as if one has been admitted to a mythical land of desire. In his work the artist has retained this magical feeling for nature, its creations, its growth, and its blossoming.
Through his numerous exhibitions, Amin Chughtai has won recognition in Pakistan, England and Germany, where he lives with his German wife and two children.
In a country with traditions, which go back, thousands of years, the history of Miniature Paintings is in itself, a short one. Its sphere of influence is also relatively small, limited only to the courts of Mogul and Hindu emperors and princes. An art without high drama, representing neither church nor state, modest, but still playing an exceptional role in Hindu/Muslim culture, as Amin Chughtai proves, still very much alive today. An art, which has succeeded in uniting cultural and spiritual, forms, revealing to the Western world, the secrets of love, passion and the innermost feelings of the artist. Amin Chughtai allows us to take a thorough look his somewhat religious, refined but nevertheless human art – perhaps, the last living naïve creative art of the East, before it falls under the influence of European domination.
His Painting Style
A style based on feeling for music forms, which was characteristic of old Indian/Mogul art, but has nothing to do with the past. If a comparison with European art is what is wanted, it will be noted that Amin Chughtai’s method of painting corresponds to the idiosyncrasies of Indian/Mogul painting. He sees his figures as absolutely flat, without perspective. The represented figures are placed next to one another without any overlapping and without disruption to the composition layout. The Landscape serves only to provide milieu and balance to the composition.
The women play an obvious role in his paintings. The ample, attractive proportions, though exaggerated are soft, and the natural grace of the female body is drawn beautifully, capturing the motionless movement. It seems as though the world has stopped for a moment to capture this beautiful feeling, a feeling which cannot be found in the European art of today.
Amin Chughtai’s art can be called representative art. He depicts his beautiful girls and women in such a way that even trees, flowers, animals and birds express the feelings of the figure represented. By touching the tree with her delicate limbs, she causes the tree to blossom – a human being that has taken over the task of the bees. Again it is seen how the woman holds a lotus bud or lotus flower in full bloom in her hand; the lotus flower itself is dancing. The flower, tree or plant, all of which show her mood, feelings and sensitivity, thus characterizes the woman. A bowl of flowers or fresh petals show the women in the process of performing a ritual for her beloved.
In his Ajanta Dance painting, the gracefulness of the body is highlighted by the so-called “triple bending”, or exaggerated curve of the hips. Not only does it bewitch the eye, but it also creates a special effect within the composition. The presentation of the woman corresponds primarily to the female’s charms and her beauty. The gestures of the hands are innumerable, with the positions of the fingers being most expressive and graceful. Heads with high foreheads; oversize, almost staring eyes, curved, lancet shaped and intentionally drawn out too long and narrow, in order to intensify the erotic attraction, thus causing a hypnotic effect on the beholder. New styles and designs are seen in the jewelry, which covers the entire body, from the hair right down to the ankles. Capes loosely thrown masterfully over the upper body, sometimes with an opening for the head, face, hand or feet, decorate not only the body but also show that the artist is in full command of his artistic vision, and its reproduction on paper.
A fairy-tale world! A never-ending sweetness permeates all life – eternal, dalliance and flirtation – the yearnings and blessedness of love. This one and special world which moves with all thoughts and feelings around our world, self-forgetfulness, in giving oneself up to its delights and beauty, the delicacy and grace of its movements seen in Amin Chughtai’s paintings.
I hope that I have succeeded in bringing the artist and his art closer to you. For the art lover, for the art admirer of Indian/Mogul art, the female image will always hold a primary place in the artists’ world.
Helmut Marcus
Director of the Kleines Kunstkabinett
About the Author
Born in Lahore in 1943 / Pakistan
I started drawing at a very early age. After attending school and college, I studied Fine Art at the University of Punjab in the Fine Art Department, which created a solid base for my further development in this field. I was also inspired by the Abdul Rahman Chughtai style of paintings and his beautiful colour combination. He gave me the opportunity to show him my early work and I consulted him with my rough sketches and finished paintings. He taught me and guided me to command the water colour media flow and its delicate environment of hues and colour saturation. In 1966 I went for studies to London, where I studied at the London College of Printing. 1973 I moved with my family to Germany.
1962 – 1964 Forman Christian College
1964 – 1966 Study of Art at the Fine Art Department, Punjab University, Lahore
1967 London College of Printing, London
1971 University of London
1979 – 1997 Accounting & Management Study
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