Biography

S.H. Raza attended the Nagpur School of Fine Arts and then the Sir JJ School of Arts in Bombay. He is one of the founders of the Progressive Artist Group. In 1950, S.H. Raza obtained a scholarship from the French government and went to Paris, where he studied at The National School of Fine Arts until 1953. His first solo exhibition took place in 1958 at The Lara Vincy Gallery in Paris. In 1959, he married the French artist, Janine Mongillat. He received the Padma Shri award from the Indian president in 1981. He divided his time between Paris, Gorbio and his country of origin, India.

Since S.H. Raza began painting in India the early 1940s, his style, subject and technique evolved in distinct stages through his migration to France. During the 1950s and 1960s, Raza’s interacted with abstract expressionism. Finally in the 1970s, he made his return to a core Indian aesthetic philosophy. These distinct stages of S.H. Raza’s work form a continuum. It is a testament to the artist’s commitment to develop his vision. And so, S.H. Raza’s expansive body of work has transcultural appeal.

The Raza Foundation-Gorbio, chaired by Soufiane Bensabra, manages the estate of S.H. Raza and the estate of Janine Mongillat, his late wife (1929-2002).

"Bindu symbolizes the seed, the seed that contains the potential of all life and which, in a certain sense, is also the visible form that contains all the essential elements of the line, the tone, the color, the shape and the black space is loaded with latent forces just waiting to be born." -S.H. Raza

Mongillat and Raza

“Mongillat and S.H. Raza met in Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the 1950s, at a time when modern influences were blowing through Europe. An equally gifted painter, Mongillat introduced her husband to the magnificence of Southern France. Talking to friends and experts, it became evident that S.H. Raza didn’t come to the south seeking the light, like his post-impressionist mentors. His bindus, mandalas, prakritis, Surya Namaskars and the many landscapes share a close affinity to the Rajput and Mughal miniatures that are heavily borrowed from the Hindu philosophy. At first sight, the vibrancy of his work bears no resemblance to Gorbio. But Gorbarins insist on looking deeper for a renewed understanding of the different ways in which Gorbio shaped Raza’s vision. “Gorbio gave him the mood to paint,” says Yvan Bracco. “His art was Indian, though with a highly European expression,” says Mia Berg, an old friend of the artist from Gorbio.” - Shaikh Ayaz, Tracing S.H. Raza to the French Riviera