World Art Day: 8 Famous Paintings Made By Legendary Indian Artists, All Indians Should Recognise!

World Art Day is a day when the entire world celebrates fine arts and artistes as declared by the International Association of Art in order to promote awareness of creative activity worldwide. Celebrate on every April 15, this day was chosen to honour the great artist Leonardo da Vinci's birthday. Da Vinci was a symbol of freedom of expression, peace, brotherhood, tolerance and multiculturalism. He was also in a way the torchbearer of art, which eventually did becomes important for other fields. So to honour the same in India, I have put together some masterpieces of artwork by famous Indian artists that every Indian should be able to recognise.

Jamini Roy's Three Pujarins

This Bengali artist was a modernist in the 20th century of Indian art. He was well known for the usage of bold colours and his works were mostly inspired by thefolk art tradition of Bengal. This painting depicts three almond-eyed priestesses as Bengalis are well known for big beautiful eyes. Also one of the most famous pupils of Rabindranath Tagore, Jamini was honoured with a Padma Bhushan in 1955.

Rabindranath Tagore's Self-Portrait

This was a Lithograph Self portrait made by Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1924 when he was 63. Towards the end of his career, Tagore was trying his best to make art accessible to all and took up painting more seriously. He made many sketches and drawings and used brush, pencil and pen, to make them.

S L Haldankar's Glow Of Hope

This was a painting made from live study when 70 years ago, a girl stood still for three hours with a lamp in her hand, posing for her father S L Haldankar. Not pastel or oil paints, this was a painting made with watercolours, a masterpiece known as Lady with the Lamp or Glow of Hope. You can see it today at Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery in Jaganmohan Palace in Mysore as it has been there for nearly 60 years now. The gentle stroke, subtle usage of colours and the softness cannot be missed with the ethereal depiction of the light spilling from the fingers. This is a piece known worldwide.

Tyeb Mehta's Mahishasura

This is one very famous contemporary artwork made by contemporary artist Tyeb Mehta. Titled Mahishasura – a reinterpretation of the tale of the demon by the same name, was the first Indian painting which was sold for over a million, for a whopping $1.584 million at Christie’s in 2005. The painting was made by Mehra post his visit to Shantiniketan where he was inspired by the legend of Mahishasura.

Nandlal Bose's Bapuji

Mahatma Gandhi was one of the greatest freedom fighters the world and also called India's father of the nation. He was a muse of many artistes not just in India but on foreign shores as well. The legendary Nandalal Bose, who was an artist of Shantiniketan during the lifetime of Gandhi, made this linocut portrait of the Mahatma titled ‘Dandi March’ which was created in 1930. It can be seen at National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi.

Raja Ravi Verma's Lady With Lemon

This was a famous painting of a lady holding a lemon, made in the 19th century by famous artist in the history of Indian Art, Raja Ravi Verma. Verma's artworks are given as an example of fusion of European techniques with a purely Indian sensibility. His works were known as the latest European academic art techniques of the day. He was also well known for making affordable lithographs of his paintings which made them accessible and available to the public.

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MF Husain's Horse Paintings

M.F Hussain is one artist who was the most respected by art students and patriots but extremely misunderstood and controversial for those who lacked the ability to understand even an iota of art. Being an art student myself, I still fail to understand why people do not understand the simple fact that art is subjective and it is an each to his own. Art is what is freedom to express.Maqbool Fida Husain better known as M. F. Husain was a modern Indian painter and also the founding member of Bombay Progressive Artists' Group. He had a love for horses and many of his paintings depicted them with a different meaning.

Self Portrait – Amrita Sher-Gil

This is a 1931 self-portrait by Amrita Sher-Gil, which was painted by her when she was just 18.