ALBERT CAMUS AND ARTIST SADEQUAIN

                                

                                                                          

SADEQUAIN AND ALBERT CAMUS

(Meursault looking through the Window.. Oil on Canvas by Sadequain Naqvi.)

SADEQUAIN ( 1923-1987 ) was an internationally acclaimed artist from Pakistan born and brought up in Amroha ( UP ) . He was influenced by Bombay Progressives prior to his moving to Pakistan. He lived in Paris for 6 years where he was also commissioned to draw scenes , images and graphics for a special edition of Albert Camus’s novel ' THE OUTSIDER ' originally L’Étranger in French. He painted the characters and drew sketches of Meursault , Mary , Raymond and many more from the novel. He painted scenes as well . Scenes like Mary and Meursault on the beach or the scene of the crime and Meursault looking from the window on a lazy Sunday. Sadequain’s illustrations highlight the emotional upheavals, ideological beliefs , and integrity that Camus has written about in " THE OUTSIDER' . The artist’s mastery at illustrating the subject matter of the book is so profound  that it made the French newspaper, Le Figaro, write this :-

“ Sadequain has perfectly created the impression of space, density, volume and the reality of matter; transforming an abstract thought into a material fact in plastic.”

I saw some illustrations /paintings/sketches from Sadequain's "The Outsider" series. Superb , fantastic and speaking frames .I  am awestruck since I have read the novel more than 5 times and have become familiar with most of the characters and the scenes/ situations created by Camus.

About Sadequain's  selection, this is what SADEQUAIN FOUNDATION informs us :-

" While residing part time in Paris during the 1960s, Sadequain was chosen to illustrate the novel, The Stranger, a significant achievement for the artist  by any measure. There are not many documents that record the sequence of events leading to the selection of Sadequain as the illustrator-designate of the classic novel. The only documented references are found in Sadequain’s letters written to his brother, Kaz-e-man, which were published in a book titled, Khutoot-e-Sadequaini.

In two separate letters dated January 29 and January 31 of 1964, Sadequain wrote about the significant event. He was visited by the representatives of a prominent publishing house that was planning to publish an exclusive and limited edition of the illustrated version of a novel, titled The Stranger, written by the French Nobel Laureate, Albert Camus. Several artists, including Sadequain were invited to submit their proposed sketches of the illustrations and interpretations of the novel. The representatives of the jury came in person to inform him of his selection as the chosen one to do the illustrations. “The representatives expressed desire to see samples of my work if that could be arranged in the next few days. On February 1, an exhibition of my paintings was hurriedly arranged at Galerie Lambert, the gallery that represented me at the time. It was more like a presentation rather than an exhibition because it was not open to the public,” Sadequain wrote.

In an upbeat letter of October 6, 1966, written from Hotel d’ Europe, 20 rue Roquepine, Paris, he wrote that The Stranger was finally ready for publication. It took extra time for completion because the first edition had to be destroyed because of quality issues. The inaugural reception was held on Thursday, October 27 at Place de la Concorde, number 6. The chief guest at the reception was Madame Camus. In a letter dated November 29, Sadequain wrote that the reception was very festive. It was attended by the cultural elite and widely covered in the art circles. Sadequain was treated like a celebrity, and spent much time signing autographs for the seekers. The organizers printed several hundred lithographic prints for sale and they were all sold quickly. Basking in success, Sadequain moved to a new address, a detached house located at 16 rue Madeline Michellis, Neuilly, Paris.

In one of his letters, Sadequain mentioned that he did 170 lithographs for The Stranger. It is not clear if there were 170 individual illustrations or that 170 lithographs of separate colors were produced and then superimposed to produce the final count that are reproduced in this book. In addition to the final colour images, this book also includes several studies of The Stranger done in pencil."
( Source : Sadequain Foundation )

                                                                            

 ( "Study of Meursault’s Demon "done 1966 by Sadequain )

   ( Mary , Raymond and Meursault by Sadequain  )

                                                                                  

         ( Meursault at the Restaurant by Sadequain  )

      ( Mary and Meursault on the Beach by Sadequain )

                                    

               ( Above 4 illustrations for Camus's novel   by Sadequain )

Some sketches for the novel done by Sadequain :-

                                        

      

From 'THE OUTSIDER'  series, "Study of Meursault’s Demon "done 1966, is a highly impressive image created from mix of gouache, ink and graphite . The image is a representation of Meursault's character.Cut off from the world, Meursault is shown struggling with his desires and tormenting beliefs of religion and truth.There is no background to this image that looks somewhat demonic and full of anguish.

                                                                       

                        ( Left Sadequain at Paris )

                             ( Self Portrait by Sadequain )

My friend Narinder Safaya informs me this :-

"In December 1981, Sadequain  held a show of his drawings, sketches some calligraphic  work all based on couplets of Ghalib in  Rabindra Bhawan  New Delhi . I went under some confusion about the  date of inauguration a day earlier and  he was himself mounting and arranging his paintings. I sat   with him the entire afternoon giving a helping hand. He sketched  one for me with a couplet.

“Cheshm ko chaahyie har rang main waa ho jaana '

He aso promised me one which I liked at the end of the show, unfortunately l had to go to attend a very important case in Bombay till the end of his exhibition. I regret that I could not be there ."

                                                        

     (Sketch done for  Narinder Safaya by Sadequain in 1981 )

Sadequain’s murals are also on display at AMU ,Aligarh and BHU Varanasi ( 70 by 12 Feet ) and Indian Institute of Geological Sciences . Sadequain in his lifetime is reported to have painted over 15,000 pieces that include gigantic murals, figurative art, drawings and calligraphies.He held successful exhibitions at Varanasi, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Aligarh in 1981.

                                                                         

                    ( A mural at BHU by Sadequain )

For me , The "Afterword" to the great novel ‘ THE OUTSIDER ‘ by Camus himself remains matchless to this day.It touches, moves and overwhelms the reader .Here is the Afterword;

 quote ..

“A long time ago, I summed up The Outsider in a sentence I realise is extremely paradoxical: `In our society any man who doesn't cry at his mother's funeral is liable to be condemned to death.' I simply meant that the hero of the book is condemned because he doesn't play the game. In this sense, he is an outsider to the society in which he lives, wandering on the fringe, on the outskirts of life, solitary and sensual. And for that reason, some readers have been tempted to regard him as a reject. But to get a more accurate picture of his character, or rather one which conforms more closely to his author's intentions, you must ask yourself in what way Meursault doesn't play the game. The answer is simple: he refuses to lie. Lying is not saying what isn't true. It is also, in fact, especially saying more than is true and, in case of the human heart, saying more than one feels. We all do it, every day, to make life simpler. But, contrary to appearances, Meursault doesn't want to make life simpler. He says what he is, he refuses to hide his feelings and society immediately feels threatened. For example, he is asked to say that he regrets his crime, in time-honoured fashion. He replies that he feels more annoyance about it than true regret. And it is this nuance that condemns him.

So for me Meursault is not a reject, but a poor and naked man, in love with a sun which leaves no shadows. Far from lacking all sensibility, he is driven by a tenacious and therefore profound passion, the passion for an absolute and for truth. The truth is as yet a negative one, a truth born of living and feeling, but without which no triumph over the self or over the world will ever be possible.

So one wouldn't be far wrong in seeing The Outsider as the story of a man who, without any heroic pretensions, agrees to die for the truth. I also once said, and again paradoxically, that I tried to make my character represent the only Christ that we deserve. It will be understood, after these explanations, that I said it without any intention of blasphemy but simply with the somewhat ironic affection that an artist has a right to feel towards the characters he has created.” Unquote

( Avtar Mota )

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