Shahid Jalal, a unique artist with unmatched manners

LAHORE:Shahid Jalal, besides being one of the unique artists, was far more a greater and loving human being with unmatched civilised manners and a lovely personality. His untimely demise has created a void which will never be filled.

This was the crux of the sentiments expressed by artists in a condolence reference held in the permanent art gallery of Alhamra Arts Council, The Mall on Friday, to pay homage to renowned landscape painter Shahid Jalal who died of cardiac arrest here Tuesday.

The friends, colleagues and his students praised Late Shahid Jalal for his humanistic behaviour and his simple but impressive lifestyle. They maintained that the departed artist was not only a caring and loving human being but also a very ‘cool’ guy who wouldn’t get anger on anyone and neither would scold anyone for any mistake. He was a lover of truth and would never side with anything which he considered was wrong by all values.

His friends told the gathering that he lived a very fulfilling and great life, a life of beauty. They pointed out that he worked in a very difficult yet a very admirable style, his landscapes had a unique style which was highly impressive. Mian Ijaz-ul-Hassan, Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali, Dr Ajaz Anwar, Qudoos Mirza, Shahid Kardar, Muneeza Hashmi, Chairperson Alhamra Art Council, Executive Director Alhamra Saman Rai, Director Alhamra Zulfiqar Zulfi and many others shared their sentiments about Late Shahid Jalal.

Those who were present on this occasion included Munawer Mohiuddin, Shahid Ahmed, Muhammad Ramzan of Ejaz Art Gallery and many others. He was a chartered accountant who became Lahore's renowned artist in his middle years. Brother of historian Ayesha Jalal, an effervescent personality, kind, straight talking and humble. Shahid Jalal was born in 1948. His death came as a sudden shock to the world of art and the entire art community in many other countries. In 2017, Ejaz Art Gallery had a solo exhibition by Shahid Jalal titled “Flower Carpets of Lahore.” A recipient of the Pride of Performance Presidential Award, Shahid Jalal developed a style of his own, which is executed with thick impasto brush strokes.

Shahid Jalal was mentored by the late master artist Khalid Iqbal and studied at National College of Arts in 1979-80. The artist exhibited his paintings in Washington, Sotheby’s London, Stockholm, Delhi Trinale, won the Punjab Painters Exhibition in 1989 as well as the President’s Award for Pride of Performance in the field of painting in 1994. He was a ‘plein air’ painter, he painted outdoors. The artist seldom exhibited his paintings, and whenever he showed, his works would sell like hot cake.