A cubist nude woman and horse and a Mughal miniature

I will always fondly remember today as I purchased my very own first Pakistani art. After going back and forth to the Nomad Art Gallery (I must have made at least 5 trips), rummaging through paintings, researching artists on the Internet, and talking to the various gallery staff, I finally made my selection today! 

I purchased a Mashkoor Raza mid-size painting and a Mughal miniature by N.H. Kazmi. 

The Mashkoor Raza, an artist from Lahore, is a very atmospheric cubist piece with a nude woman and a horse. It's part of a series of  "over 35 oil paintings featuring fuming horses and semi nude women were put on display, giving an impression of ‘power and beauty'" (Check out this article Mashkoor Raza Encloses Cubism at Nomad Gallery Islamabad).

And here it is:

Ain't she a beauty?

There was a similar one to this and it was in red hues but I am glad I got the blue one. 

The other painting is a Mughal miniature by N.H. Kazmi who is a prominent artist and famous for his Mughal miniatures. It was a bit of an impulsive purchase and to be honest, there is nothing particularly mind blowing about it, but I guess I got it for the heck of it. There was a painting, not a miniature, by the same artist which featured two veiled women and for me, that was more interesting. But it was as expensive as the first one and I wanted to spend the bigger part of my budget on the Mashkoor Raza. 

Below is a picture of the miniature:

I am really happy with my first foray into Pakistani art and, now plan on collecting pieces each time I visit Pakistan instead of blowing so much money on clothes! There were lots of other amazing pieces in the gallery. I am mainly more interested in the more modern expressions rather than Mughal miniatures and calligraphy, not that it is not beautiful, but I would rather explore something else. 

So, thanks to my brother for suggesting I invest in Pakistani art. I sent him a teasing text message today where I said I was really more Pakistani than him as I not only still had a Pakistani passport (he's got a British one in addition to his Pakistani one) but also owned 2 Pakistani paintings. He's probably going to get really annoyed because we have this really anal argument as to who is more Pakistani between us.