In a statement, the art gallery said they were “reviewing the situation” and “trying to monitor developments.”
Maqbool Fida Hussain was one of India’s greatest artists and was called the “Picasso of India”, but his art was often controversial in the country. His works sell for millions of dollars.
His career was marked by controversy when he was accused of obscenity and condemned by violent Hindus for a painting of a nude goddess.
In 2006, Hussain publicly apologized for his painting Mother India. It depicted a naked woman kneeling on the ground, forming the shape of a map of India. In the same year, he left the country and lived in exile in London until his death.
In 2008 Supreme Court of India refused to open a criminal case against Hussein, externalsaying that his paintings are not obscene but that nudity is common in Indian iconography and history.
The court then rejected an appeal against a high court order that quashed criminal cases against Hussain in the cities of Bhopal, Indore and Rajkot, condemning the rise of a “new puritanism” in India.
The court also rejected calls to summon Hussain, who was then in exile, and asked to explain his paintings, which were accused of offending religious sentiments and violating national integrity.
“There are so many such stories, photos and publications. Will you file a case against everyone? What about temple structures? Hussain’s work is art. If you don’t want to see it, don’t watch it. There are so many such forms of art in temple structures,” the apex court said.
Many believe that there is a growing wave of illiberalism against artistic expression in India.
In October, the Bombay High Court – scolded the customs office, external for confiscation of works of art of famous artists F. N. Souza and Akbar Padamsi on the grounds that they were “indecent material”.
The court ruled that not every painting of nudity or overt sexuality qualifies as obscene and ordered the release of seven confiscated works of art.
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