Murtaja Baseer’s 89th Birth Anniversary Today

Tuesday marks the 89th birth anniversary of Ekushey-Padak and Independence Award-winning artist, Language Movement veteran, poet, author, researcher, and filmmaker Murtaja Baseer.

A man of versatile talent, Murtaja Baseer was born to renowned linguist, educationist, and writer Dr Muhammad Shahidullah and Marguba Khatun in Dhaka. He was their youngest son among 9 of their children.

Baseer enrolled in Dacca Art College (now the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka) in 1949 and graduated in 1954. In the meantime, he got involved in leftist politics and actively participated in the 1952 Language Movement.

He then studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence in Tuscany, Italy from 1956 to 1958. He also studied mosaic and etching at École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA) in Paris, France from 1971 to 1973.

During the Liberation War, Baseer crafted his revered painting series titled "Epitaph for the Martyrs" in Paris. With stylization inspired by Parisian streets as a sombre background for the martyrs in the war, the series ended up being a 37-painting series.

After returning to his motherland, Baseer joined Chittagong University as an assistant professor of Fine Arts and continued teaching. He retired as a Professor in 1998.

 ‘Somnambular Ballad’, ‘The Gypsy’, ‘Girl with Flower’, ‘No More War’, ‘Statue of Liberty’, ‘the Wall series’, and ‘the Jyoti series’ are some of his well-known and acclaimed paintings.

One of his watercolour portraits is also an exhibit at the world-famous Louvre museum in Paris. His paintings have been exhibited in many national and international exhibitions in Bangladesh, Pakistan, America, Europe, and the former Soviet Union.

Also a prolific writer and film-enthusiasts, Baseer has written several novels including ‘Ultramarine’, ‘Kanch-er Pakhir Gaan’, ‘Mitar Shangey Char Shandha’ and ‘Amitakkhar’. His 2004 scholarly work, ‘Mudra O Shilalipir Aloke Banglar Habshi Sultan O Tothkalin Samaj’, was widely acclaimed. Several of his scholarly articles were published in the Journal of the Numismatic Society of India.

He contributed as the screenwriter, art director, and chief assistant director for the 1965 Bengali film ‘Nadi O Nari’ (The River and the Women). He was also the art director for the 1965 Urdu film ‘Kaise Kahoon’.

For his significant contribution to the country’s arts and literature, Murtaja Baseer was awarded Ekushey Padak in 1980 and Independence Award in 2019. He also received Prix National, Festival of Paintings, Cagnes-sur Mer in France (1973), Academy Award by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (1975), Sultan Padak, Narail (2003) and other awards in his versatile career.

The legendary artist died from COVID-19 on the day of National Mourning Day on August 15, 2020, two days before his 88th birthday.

Source: UNB