Pakistan Postal Services presents 'Ten Great Artists' Commemorative Postage Stamps

"The following series of stamps is a posthumous tribute to Ten Great Painters who helped to raise an awareness of art in Pakistan and established their names in the universal art world."

-- Pakistan Post

Any discussion of the contemporary art movement in Pakistan must begin by enquiring into its cultural past, particularly in view of the rich and unique artistic tradition and the heritage of its people. The historical circumstances which have subscribed to Pakistan, are often referred to as a 'crucible' of cultures, a traditional meeting-point of East and West. One may trace influences of Aryan and pre-Aryan eras; the Buddhist and the Greek, the Mughal and the Rajput cultural elements. All these influences are clearly visible, though aesthetically integrated, in the artworks of the artists who have inhabited these regions over a period of four to five thousand years.

The arts of painting, modelling and engraving are deeply rooted in this land. Creative artists and their work flourished here through successive periods of history and pre-history. The last of these periods, and the nearest to our own time historically was dominated by the Mughals, a dynamic, vigorous and highly artistic people. In the course of several centuries they became fully integrated with the local population, and greatly contributed to the cultural renaissance in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent.

All these works of individual artists are sensitive to a multiplicity of influences while at the same time striving to evolve individual expressions of their own.

-- Courtesy Marjorie Husain

Credit and special thanks to Pakistan Post