Muharram Painting by Italian Artist

10th Muharram Painting 


Fausto Zonaro 

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

"After witnessing the procession I wish I were able to meet this man they mourn for". This was the spontaneous reaction of famous Italian painter Fausto Zonaro after he happened to watch a Muharram procession on Yaum-E-Ashura in Istanbul. Solemnity of the procession deeply touched the painter and inspired him to paint the Ashura procession. The effort produced the painting that is renowned all over the world as 10^th of Muharram. The ‘man’ in his reaction refers to Hazrat Imam Hussain who was martyred on 10^th of Muharram at Karbala. He was grandson of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad and brutally killed with his small band of companions by the oppressive forces of Caliph Yazid. Imam Hussain had to face wrath of Yazid for not paying allegiance to his anti-Islamic deeds in 680 AD. Since then, processions are taken out on the day of his martyrdom all over the world.   The reaction of Zonaro also reveals that he had not only watched the procession but also tried to find out as to why it was being taken out? His painting exhibits the solemnity of the occasion and somber mood of the participants. It was perhaps the disciplined and solemn approach of the precisionists that propelled Zonaro to probe and get inspired from the sublime sacrifice of Imam Hussain to the extent that he wished to “ meet the man they mourn for” .

Fausto Zonaro was born on 18 September 1854.He is best known for his realist paintings of life and history of the Ottoman Empire. The turning point in his career occurred however in 1891, when he fell in love with his pupil  Elisabetta Pante in Venice. He travelled to Istanbul ,capital of Ottomoan empire with Elisabetta.In 1892,he married his pupil and gained patronage in aristocratic circles.In 1896, he was nominated as the court painter. During his stay in Istanbul, Zonaro witnessed Ashura processions. In 1920, he separated from his wife and began living with his daughter. Nine years later, he died on 19 July 1929.(References available on request. Photo Courtesy-Google Images )