Politicians are like our next-door neighbours. We see them every day — in our newspapers, delivering their fiery speeches on our screens and smiling from the million posters that line our city walls. They are an intrinsic part of our daily lives. We think we know them as there can’t be anything private about their lives, but then, do we really? Jitha Karthikeyan presents a rare glimpse into the artistic side of some of our netas that may completely surprise you.
A Prime Minister’s canvas
Late former Indian Prime Minister, VP Singh may have strived to paint rosy pictures for the nation as a politician, but he also painted haunting pictures, away from the political arena. He started as an accomplished photographer and went on to do pencil sketches, until his political career put his artistic pursuits on hold. For years, he painted without ever bringing it to the public eye, doubting the quality of his work — an insecurity that most artists experience. On the insistence of his friends, he finally held an exhibition and to his astonishment, most of the paintings sold out! Although nature dominated his canvases earlier, he slowly turned to human forms in his post- political life. “I did politics with my head but I paint with my heart,” he once remarked.
The king’s watercolours
Britain’s reigning monarch, King Charles III, started painting in the 1970’s after he was inspired by his art master in school, who guided the artist in him. Primarily painting with watercolours, the king often paints outdoors, favouring the beauty of nature as his subject. A quick painter, he once stated that he preferred to complete his paintings soon, in order to not keep his security guards waiting for too long. The king’s art has been displayed across the world and all proceeds from the sale of his artworks are directed to his charity.
The disgruntled dictator
The last thing on Earth that anyone would associate Adolf Hitler with, is art. The infamous dictator of Germany who rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party will always be remembered for starting the Second World War and for his systematic murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust. Not many though, know of the dreams he nursed of becoming an artist. As a young man, he failed to get admitted into the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts despite two attempts. He survived by painting postcards and watercolours to earn a living. With the outbreak of the First World War, his life took a different turn and his days as a struggling artist ended.
Hitler though, was not one to take his rejection by the Arts Academy lightly. His shock and disappointment back then turned into an intolerance for modern art. In 1937 at the peak of his power, he seized around 16,000 artworks from various German museums and held a degenerative art show, intentionally displaying the priceless artworks in an unaesthetic manner with no care. He even hired people to criticise the art. The show, however, attracted three million viewers, while another exhibition he held at the same time with art that he had personally approved had barely any footfalls. Most of Hitler’s own paintings were destroyed under his command but there still remain several of his artworks with the biggest collection housed in the International Museum of World War II, in the US.
The President’s portrait
The world knows him as the former President of the United States, a position so powerful that it simply overshadows anything else he can ever be. George W Bush started painting after his presidency ended and managed to keep it secret until 2013 when his sister’s e-mail account was hacked and images of his art were leaked. Surprised at first by the attention, George soon acknowledged his interest in art and made his paintings public. In the years that followed, Bush has continued to paint. His series titled, Portraits of Courage, features war veterans he had encountered in military hospitals. His canvases bear images of their once seriously injured faces. The psychological scars that the troops still carry from the war he sent them to fight may have left a wound on him too perhaps.
When the CM paints
Mamata Banerjee’s penchant for painting has often managed to court controversy. Fondly called Didi by her supporters, the chief minister of West Bengal has always been open about her love for art. However, not everyone was amused when she proclaimed that the sale of her paintings fetched a whopping amount, which was of course contributed to the CM Relief Fund. She has actively defended her decision to use her art for the political causes she believed in and continues to paint despite all the ups and downs of public life.
Politicians may never fit into the identity of an artist because their primary identity that the world recognises them, will always be that of a leader. With most of them finding the time to indulge in their interest only very late in life, their purpose is beyond making a career of art or even being acknowledged. They paint simply because they owe it to themselves when the dust settles over a life dedicated to public affairs.