Tribute to a legend: Documenting a treasure that surpasses cultural and geographical boundaries

Two-volume ‘The Saga of Sadequain’ launched.

ISLAMABAD: To commemorate the 25th death anniversary of the legendary artist, “The Saga of Sadequain” was launched at Serena Hotel on Sunday.

Almost 100 people, including a number of artists, intellectuals and art lovers attended the book launch, which was held by Sadequain Foundation.

Addressing the audience, the author, Dr Salman Ahmed, said that the book, containing over 850 pages and 500 illustrations, is the largest publication to be written in the history of Pakistan.

The book, he said, contains carefully selected facts on Sadequain’s development as an artist and the way his lifestyle affected his work. It is the ninth book to be launched by the foundation.

The author, who left his profession as an engineer, has been on his mission to collect Sadequain’s work and compile the book for the past four years.

“He is not known to people despite his story being intriguing. There are a lot of people who talk about him but they can’t describe him,” said the author.

According to Ahmed, Sadequain has produced more murals than Diego Rivera and Michelangelo Buonarroti, and he is a subject of many books, doctorates and thesis.

“The multiplicity of his gifts is reminiscent of Picasso,” he added.

Sadequain Foundation is aiming to stock the book in the libraries 50 American universities and to display his work in 12 museums across the US.

Born in 1930, Sadequain started working at the age of 17 and produced 1,500 art pieces including gigantic murals, intriguing paintings, innovative calligraphies and exquisite drawings.

In addition to that, he has also composed thousands of introspective quatrains. He introduced monumental murals to the visual vocabulary of Pakistan by painting over 45 murals, two of which have been preserved at Mangla Dam and the head office of State Bank of Pakistan in Karachi. He died in 1987.

“[The legacy of] Sadequain is a treasure, which surpasses cultural and geographical boundaries,” said Ahmad.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2012.