Abdur Rahman Chughtai (21
September 1894-17 January 1975) was a painter, artist, and an intellectual from
Pakistan, who created his own unique, distinctive painting style influenced by
a variety of sources that included traditional miniature, Mughal, Art Nouveau,
Orientalist, and Islamic styles of painting. Chughtai's best-known paintings
are his portraits, featuring their subjects existing in a flattened pictorial
space painted in rich golds and pastels, and populated by metaphorical
signifiers. Chughtai was lauded as one of the most important Muslim artists of
the early 20th century and is considered to be the first significant modern
artist from Pakistan and the national artist of Pakistan. Apart from paintings,
Chughtai has the unique honour to be the designer of the official logos of
Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television and also one of the values of first
Pakistan stamp set issued on 9 July 1948 to commemorate Pakistan's first
independence anniversary. On Pakistan's Independence Day in 1951, he produced a
set of 9 stamps, better known as 'Chughtai Art set'. At that time, this set was
considered as the most beautiful stamps of the world. He went on to achieve
widespread attention and honour for his work and was given the title of Khan
Bahadur in 1934, awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) in 1960, and
the Presidential medal for Pride of Performance in 1968.
In the 1920s, Chughtai created
large watercolours in a modified Bengal-school style. By the 1940s his painting
style was influenced by Mughal architecture, Islamic calligraphy, miniature
painting and Art Nouveau. His diverse subject matter by now included heroes and
heroines from Islamic history, Mughal kings and queens, and episodes from Punjabi,
Persian, and Indo- Islamic legends and folktales. Throughout his six-decade
career, Chughtai produced over 2000 watercolour paintings, countless pencil
sketches, and nearly 300 etchings and aquatints. His work, characterized by its
delicate yet powerful use of line and colour, reflected his deep connection to
his heritage while also introducing modern elements. As a versatile artist, he
also designed stamps, coins, insignia, and book covers. Some of his famous
books include Muraqqai-i-Chughtai (1928), Naqsh-i- Chughtai (1935) and
Amal-i-Chughtai (1960). The Muraqqai- Chughtai which is chiefly an illustrated
version of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib's Diwan-e-Ghalib, in which side by side
with some selected couplets, Chughtai produced their artistic renditions in the
form of watercolour illustrations. With a foreword by Sir Muhammad Allama
Iqbal, it is regarded as the most significant work of Chughtai's career and in
its time, was considered the finest achievement in book production in the
country.
Chughtai's works are displayed at
President House Islamabad, Governors' Houses in Lahore and Karachi, the British
Museums Victoria and Albert, Peace Palace Hague, United Nations Headquarters
New York, Kennedy Memorial Boston, US State Department Washington D.C., President's
House Bonn, Queen Juliana's Palace Netherlands, Emperor's Palace Bangkok,
Andhra Pradesh State Archaeology Museum and the National Art Gallery,
Islamabad. Many of his works are at the Chughtai Museum Trust in Lahore.
As an apt tribute to the maestro,
each stamp incorporated in the souvenir sheet figures a distinct inscription of
Pakistan in Urdu crafted by Abdur Rahman Chughtai on Pakistan's first stamp set
issued in 1948. Furthermore, all stamps on the souvenir sheet have backgrounds
of a different Pakistan stamp designed by Abdur Rahman Chughtai which are as
following (top to bottom):
• 1st Independence Anniversary -
1948 (1 Rupee)
• 4th Independence Anniversary -
1951 (4 Annas)
• 4th Independence Anniversary -
1951 (6 Annas)
• 4th Independence Anniversary -
1951 (3 Annas, Service)
Following paintings of Abdur
Rahman Chughtai have been used in this souvenir sheet (clockwise):
• Princess by the Terrace
• Portrait of Ghalib (from
Muraqqa-i-Chughtai)
• Doe-Eyed Beauty
• Noor Jehan and Jahangir
• Lady with Bulbul (from
Muraqqa-i-Chughtai)
• The Mughal Princess
On the 50th Death Anniversary of Abdur Rahman Chughtai, a Commemorative Souvenir Sheet of Rs. 120/- denomination is being issued by Pakistan Post on January 17th, 2025.
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