Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin

Zainul Abedin (1914-1976) was an artist from Bangladesh. Zainul Abedin was born in Mymensingh, East Bengal, on December 29, 1914. Abedin's paintings on the Bengal famine of 1940s is probably his most characteristic work. In Bangladesh, he is often referred to as Shilpacharya. Much of his childhood was spent near the scenic banks of the Brahmaputra River. The Brahmaputra would later appear in many of his paintings and be a source of inspiration all throughout his career. In 1933, Abedin was admitted to Calcutta Government Art School in Kolkata. He joined the faculty of the school after his education there was completed. A series of watercolours that Zainul did as his tribute to the Brahmaputra River earned him the Governor's Gold Medal in an all-India exhibition in 1938. This award gave Abedin the confidence to create his own visual style. Zainul Abedin was involved in all stages of the movement that finally made the creation of Bangladesh possible. He was in the forefront of the cultural movement to re-establish the Bengali identity, marginalised by the Pakistan government. In 1969, Abedin painted a scroll using Chinese ink, watercolour and wax named Nobanno. This was to celebrate the ongoing non-cooperation movement.