Lot Essay
Abdur Rahman Chughtai remains one of the most acclaimed and revered Pakistani artists of the twentieth century. The artist began his training at the Mayo School of Art, Lahore in 1911, where he was taught by Samarendranath Gupta, who was himself a pupil of Abanindranath Tagore. The influence of the Bengal School is visible in Chughtai’s early work, but what distinguishes the artist is his skill as a draughtsman. He portrayed famous personalities from Islamic history and depicted scenes from religious and Mughal texts, often in exceptional compositions rendered with characteristically delicate, flowing lines. Chughtai visited Europe and came into contact with Pre-Raphaelite painting and also referenced prints of Aubrey Beardsley, whose dense linear designs had become very fashionable in both Europe and India at the beginning of the twentieth century.