For art lovers: ‘The Marvel that is Khalid Iqbal’ launched

Painting exhibition of his work will continue till Jan 18

LAHORE: An exhibition of paintings by celebrated landscape painter of Pakistan, the late Khalid Iqbal, was held and a book on his life and works launched at Ejaz Art Gallery on Sunday.

The book, The Marvel that is Khalid Iqbal, by Dr Munawar Ahmed, who is an ardent admirer and a friend of Kahlid Iqbal, decided to write the book after his death in 2014.

“The idea to write this book came from an obligation that I actually felt upon re-examining the marvel of Iqbal’s work. Ahmed remained a close friend of mine throughout, witnessing the development of his art,” said Munawar.

The book introduces readers to various aspects of Khalid Iqbal’s personality and moves on to document the main events of his life which left a long lasting impact on his personality and career. Munawar said he went through Iqbal’s work again, he felt strongly that the extent of his contributions needed a thorough reconsideration.



“The artists’ community has lost a great mentor and a genuinely creative artist and the excellence of Iqbal’s work speaks for itself,”Munawar said, adding the book serves an insight into a deeper understanding of Iqbal’s master pieces and the context in which they were created. Muanwar writes as preface of the book, that he strongly felt the need to do so, since literature available on Iqbal’s work is scarce and sketchy. He added he is yet to come across a serious work that shows the talent and knowledge which he (Iqbal) possessed to interpret nature.

The artist was capable of presenting interpretations through such detail and delicate tones which could not be duplicated or matched in mastery, said Munawar.

One of the close aides of Iqbal, Dr Rahat Naveed Masood, who is currently Principal College of Art and Design University of Punjab, read out an excerpt from the book’s foreword written by her.

She said that Iqbal was known as the father of modern landscape painting in Pakistan and he can be termed as a realist whose work exudes sensitivity and deep understanding of his environment.

“He was able to draw a viewer by painting a space that was intrinsic truth about man’s existence and circles of life,” Dr Rahat said.

She said, “This, he achieved through the use of stubble colours, sensitive tonal variations and lucid brush strokes.” Dr Ahmed has remained an assistance to the cause of art and artists in many ways and his book is one such contribution.

An acclaimed architect, Nayyar Ali Dada said that artists such as Iqbal were quiet natured and that is why he understood the dynamics of life more genuinely. He added very few artists can be considered as masters in their art and Iqbal was one of them.

“Despite many of his students trying to recreate the effect, i think that nobody has been able to reach that level of mastery yet”, Nayyar said.

He added Iqbal’s paintings present an incalculable quality of art work, which is difficult to describe in words and that’s the feeling one gets when one looks at his paintings.

“The best feature of his work that set his paintings apart was the way he (Iqbal) handled space and captured the atmosphere around,”Nayyar said.

The book Launch was complimented by a painting exhibition of Khalid Iqbal’s work which will continue till 18th of January.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2017.