Page 18 - S.H. Raza || SOJOURN || The Arts Trust

The master at work at
Akbar Padamsee, Ram Kumar, and others, sought to PAG embraced Expressionism, Cubism, and abstraction,
break away from the nationalist Bengal School style that believing that Indian art must join global modernist
dominated Indian art during British rule. Raza and his movements while remaining deeply local.
fellow Progressives envisioned an art form rooted not just During this period, Raza was generally painting
in revivalism, but in contemporary experience: an Indian landscapes and townscapes inspired by his childhood
modernism that absorbed international influences while memories and life in Bombay. The works showcased
expressing the realities of mid-20th century India. The daily life scenes in earthy tones, emphasising the deep
connection of Indian landscapes with people. These
canvases were representational yet emotionally charged,
using colour to evoke, not merely depict, India’s natural
Sketch, 7 x 5 in (18 x 13 cm), acrylic on board, 1979 and urban environments. This transition finds a powerful
expression in the work, Bombay from Malabar Hill (1948).
This gouache on paper painting captures the city at a moment
of shift, seen from one of its most elevated vantage points. The
colours utilised are not merely to describe form, but to convey
atmosphere and emotion. The composition pulls your eye
from the tightly packed houses in the front, down to the curve
of the bay, and then across the busy city stretching out in the
distance. Warm earthy colours and sunlit yellows dominate the
architecture, suggesting the heat and vitality of Bombay, while
deep blues and greens of the water introduce a sense of calm
and spatial depth. The buildings feature simplified shapes and
angular contours, allowing the city to feel alive while constantly
shifting, growing, and breathing. The elevated perspective of
Malabar Hill lends the scene a quiet authority, as if the viewer
is momentarily removed from the city’s bustle, observing its
complexity from above.
Raza’s involvement with the Progressive Artists’ Group
shaped his belief in innovation, individuality, and the need to
evolve continuously. Though the group disbanded by the mid-
1950s, its influence endured, and Raza carried its spirit into
the next phase of his career.
In 1948, Raza’s life went through a lot of changes
again. His father passed away in Mandla, and not long after,
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his studio in New Delhi
in the 2000s
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January. This event met him at the station and helped him find a room in the
deeply shook the country and Raza, as he admired the Montparnasse area. Soon after arriving, Raza saw his first
legendary figure and was inspired by his philosophy of truth French art exhibition of Matisse’s collages, which piqued his
and peace. Around the same time, Raza’s four brothers and artistic inquisitiveness.
sister moved to Pakistan. He completed his studies at the J Raza enrolled at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts
J School of Art and took part in the first Progressive Artists’ and studied there from 1951 to 1953, while also spending
Group exhibition in July at the Artists’ Salon at Rampart Row, time with artists, writers, and photographers like Henri
which was opened by Dr. Mulk Raj Anand. That year, Raza Cartier-Bresson. During these years, he travelled across
travelled to Kashmir with filmmaker K A Abbas and actor France and moved into the Cité Universitaire. His first Paris
Balraj Sahni at the invitation of Sheikh Abdullah. The trip exhibition in 1952 with F N Souza and Akbar Padamsee
inspired a series of watercolours that were later exhibited was a big success. All of his works were sold and entered
in Delhi and inaugurated by Rudolf von Leyden. He also major collections. Raza decided to stay in France even
won the Gold Medal from the Bombay Art Society and was after his scholarship ended. Since he was facing financial
commissioned by the Swiss company Volkart Brothers to difficulties, he began supporting himself by giving Hindi
paint works inspired by South India for a calendar. During lessons whilst continuing to paint and build his career. It
this time, he visited exhibitions of ancient Indian sculpture was during the Paris phase of his life in the early 1950s that
and European prints in New Delhi, both of which left a his landscapes began to shed literal description and move
strong impression on him. Later, at a summer exhibition in toward structure and abstraction. This shift is clearly visible
Srinagar, he met photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, who in Untitled (Houses), 1953. An almost architectural vision
encouraged him to bring more structure into his paintings of a settlement, this ink and gouache on paper work was
by studying the work of Paul Cézanne. created in a stylised way by the artist.
The house structures appear stacked and interlocked,
creating a rhythmic pattern that moves diagonally across
Move to Paris: A Transformative Journey the composition. Instead of focusing on realistic detail,
After holding an exhibition at the Institute of Foreign Raza has simplified houses into angular planes, allowing
Languages on Outram Road in Bombay in 1949, Raza was shape, colour, and balance to take priority. The palette is
advised by Claude Journot from the French Embassy to dominated by warm browns, yellows, and muted greens,
learn French so he could apply for a French government giving the painting a grounded and timeless quality. The
scholarship. He spent a year studying the language and vast, pale background contrasts sharply with the dense
passed two Alliance Française exams in 1950, after which cluster of forms, creating a feeling of openness and isolation
he received a two-year scholarship. In September that at the same time.
year, he left for France with Akbar Padamsee and Premela Paris offered Raza exposure to the epicentre of
Coelho, reaching Marseille on 2nd October and then Paris modern art. He encountered the works of artists such as
the next day. Ram Kumar, who was already living in Paris, Cézanne, Matisse, Braque, and Kandinsky, masters who
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