Ghulam Rasul: a painter of deep talent

Ghulam Rasul Painting

Certain elements in our society are trying to destroy our art and culture, but the work of artists like late painter Ghulam Rasul is a befitting answer to those elements, Minister for Education Sardar Aseff Ali said on Friday. He made these comments at a reference organised by The Artists Association of Punjab (AAP) to honour the renowned painter at the Alhamra Art Council.

A collection of landscape paintings by Rasul was also displayed on this occasion. The paintings reflected Rasul’s mastery over the art and received warm praise from the audience. Sharing his memories of the great artist, AAP Chairman Mian Ijazul Hassan said Rasul was one of those few artists who kept painting no matter how difficult the circumstances were. Hassan said Rasul – who was the director of the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) – kept painting even when the PNCA was going through a difficult patch. He was an impulsive painter, Hassan added. He said balance, harmony, contrast, and maturity were features that characterised Rasul’s work. Hassan said the artist’s work from the early period of his life reflected “some thought” but the work done by him before his death was very interesting. “There is an acute spontaneity in the paintings done by Rasul during his last years. His brush moves around on the canvas and does not stop at any point.

Each one of his paintings has a certain brilliance to it,” he said. The education minister said, “Certain elements do not want us to believe that art is a worthwhile activity but Rasul is one of those artists who made artwork to be valued for what its worth. We pay complete homage to Rasul. We stand by our tradition, architecture and the Indus Civilization”. National College of Arts (NCA) faculty member Quddus Mirza – who read a paper on the work and techniques employed by Rasul – paid rich tribute to him. He said the landscapes painted by Rasul had a “particular unusualness” about them. Art critics Dr Musarrat Hasan and Shahnawaz Zaidi also paid rich tributes to the artist. Many senior artists including Saeed Akhtar, Muhammad Javed, Dr Ejaz Anwar and others were present on the occasion.