Love Fantasy

Chughtai is remembered today as the father of modern painting in Pakistan, although much of his work reflects a broader cultural heritage. Chughtai was born in Lahore (in present-day Punjab province, Pakistan) when it was still a part of British colonial India. He was approximately fifty years old when the independent nation of Pakistan was established. Thus, his artistic career spanned the collapse of British power in South Asia, the 1947 partition of India into separate Muslim and Hindu states, and the first three decades of Pakistani nationhood.

Early in his career Chughtai chose to present themes that reflected his Muslim identity and his Persian ancestry. Although he painted Hindu and Buddhist subjects as well, it was his Muslim historical subjects, (especially those related to South Asia), themes related to Sufi poetry, and popular Punjabi tales that inspired many of his works. Many of the artist's paintings explore the emotions of love and romantic yearning as a metaphor for spiritual devotion.