Deciphering issues of identity and nationhood by analyzing an iconic artist’s works

A series of thought-provoking articles that form part of ‘Barefoot Across The Nation - Maqbool Fida Husain & The Idea of India’ decipher Husain’s oeuvre. Among them are ‘Modernist Myths and the Exile of Husain’ by Geeta Kapur; ‘Art on Trial: Civilization and Religion in the Persona & Painting of Husain’ by David Gilmartin/ Barbara D. Metcalf; ‘Mapping India after Husain’ by Sumathi Ramaswamy.

Adding further to our understanding of the maverick artist’s social and cultural relevance are essays ‘Secret Histories of Indian Modernism: Husain as Indian Muslim Artist’ by Ananya Jahanara Kabir; ‘Of Husain and an Impossible Love’ by Veena Das; ‘I am an Indian and a painter, that is all’’ by Karin Zitzewit; ‘Defending Husain in the Public Sphere: The SAHMAT Experience’ by Ram Rahman; ‘Fault-lines in a National Edifice’ by Tapati Guha-Thakurta; ‘Husain and the Politics of Desecration’ by Kajri Jain; and ‘The Bliss of Madhuri’ by Patricia Uberoi; among others.

It’s probably the first inter-disciplinary elaborate engagement with the late Maqbool Fida Husain’s work, looks to critically examine the artistic statement that it presented on the self, community and nation. The legendary artist’s pursuit to trace his cultural roots coupled with his willingness to grasp diverse cultural influences made him one of the most recognizable names internationally.

The engaging volume undertakes the more rigorous and critical evaluation of his oeuvre, to offer a rich and diverse perspective about the artist’s personal proclivities and his professional prolificacy - across a wide range of disciplines. In the process, they engage with the myriad controversies that have continuously erupted about the master’s work. The idea is to resurrect the debate in an empathetic yet more meaningful manner – going beyond the rhetoric.

The underlying idea is to juxtapose them in debates around the creative freedom of the artist with the broader sentiments of the social community, between elitism of intellectuals and the perceptions of ‘common man’, between ‘virtue’ and ‘obscenity’, and between an artwork and a religious icon.