Google remembers painter MF Husain on his 100th birthday, decorates homepage

M.F. Hussain was a very talented artist and apart from this, many of his works even stirred controversies.

It goes unsaid, M.F. himself was a free spirited man at heart and hence, he never held any qualms in debating about the importance of art in the most outright manner.

He was also a founding member of The Progressive Artists Group of Bombay (PAG) and also proved his talent as as a print-maker, photographer and filmmaker.

Google’s latest doodle honouring Maqbool Fida Husain on his 100th birthday. An illustration of the multifaceted artist holding a brush replaced the second “G” and “L” in Google while geometrical patterns stood for G, O, O and E.

However, the revolution of an art era ended with his demise on June 9, 2011 at the age of 95.

Renowned equally for his artistry and eccentricities, the internationally acclaimed artist is credited with catapulting Indian art to the world arena – though he was hounded by a spate of controversies virtually all his life.

During his years of struggle, attempts to find employment as a film-set designer were in vain. In 1973, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan followed by the Padma Vibhushan in 1991. He also made two Hindi movies, Gaja Gamini with Madhuri Dixit and “Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities” (2004), which was screened in the Marché du Film section of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

The victor of the Padma Sri award (1966), Hussain relocated to London and Dubai after being threatened by right-wing Hindutva fundamentalists for painting controversial portraits of nude Hindu gods.