The art gallery said in a statement that it was “assessing the situation” and “attempting to follow developments”.
Maqbool Fida Hussain was one of India’s greatest painters and was called the “Picasso of India”, but his art often sparked controversy in the country. His works have sold for millions of dollars.
His career became mired in controversy when he was accused of obscenity and condemned by hardline Hindus for painting a nude goddess.
In 2006, Hussain publicly apologized for his painting Mother India. It depicts a nude woman kneeling on the ground forming the shape of an Indian map. He left the country that year and lived in self-imposed exile in London until his death.
In 2008, the Supreme Court of India refused to initiate criminal proceedings against Hussain., externalsaying that his paintings were not obscene and that nudity is common in Indian iconography and history.
The court then dismissed an appeal against a High Court decision that quashed criminal proceedings against Hussain in the cities of Bhopal, Indore and Rajkot, marking the rise of a “new Puritanism” in India. was condemned.
The court also rejected demands to summon Hussain, then in exile, and ask him to explain his paintings, which were accused of hurting religious sentiments and hurting the integrity of the country.
“There are so many articles, pictures and publications like this. Are you going to file a case against all of them? What about the temple structures? Hussain’s work is art, if you don’t want to see it, don’t see it. Temple structures “There are many such art forms,” ​​the Supreme Court said.
Many believe that there is a growing wave of illiberalism against artistic expression in India.
Bombay High Court in October The customs department was reprimanded., external to confiscate the works of eminent artists FN Souza and Akbar Padmasi on the grounds that they were “obscene material”.
The court ruled that not every nude or sexually explicit painting qualifies as obscene and ordered the release of seven confiscated artworks.
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