THE ART OF FYZEE RAHAMIN: FUSION OF ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL TRADITIONS

Abstract

Sayyid Fyzee Rahamin was an Indian painter and his artworks include portraits, landscapes, figures and murals. He was also a dramatist and a poet. Born in Poona, India, Rahamin got his lessons at the School of Art. He decided to move to London and was enrolled at Royal Academy Schools. There his teacher was John Singer Sargent and Solomon J. Solomon. He worked in the style of Occidental art while living in London but in 1908 his teacher advised him to go back to India and try to explore the roots of his own indigenous art. However, very obediently he came back to India and started studying and experimenting on the blending of Indian art with the Occidental art. In India he studied ancient Indian art as well as Mughal miniature. He abandoned utilizing Occidental art styles inherited from Sargent and adopted Oriental art styles in order to revive traditional styles of Mughal painting. The critical analysis as well as the exploration of Fyzee’s art work has been hypothesized. Rahamin has, however, applied knowledge he attained from his master to the progress of traditional Indo Persian art, holding its decorative character and its specific style. The original character became prevailing as Rahamin painted people and places of his motherland. The art forms include portraits of dying aristocracy, pictures of Musicians, Mosques, Shrines, familiar scenes and sights of his country, corporeal faces and figures.