The art of painting is as old as any other art of the world. Although, its style and techniques have changed with the passage of time but it remained a loved genre of art throughout the history. Artists and painters have been depicting their respective eras through their paintings. They have been weaving an emotional and imaginative super-structure of life through colours. They bring out the hidden beauties of nature through their work which a common man can’t perceive. All the mysteries and secrets of life and universe, discovered by the scientists, were first of all visualized and imagined by the artist who inspired and motivated mankind. Their every work of art is an eternal treasure of human feelings, imagination and emotions. They enlighten people of different values and virtues. Every work of an art is an eternal treasure of human wisdom and an ever-lasting source of inspiration.

There is no dearth of painters but the number of those artists who not only paints but also promotes the art is not much. Muhammad Javed is one such artist who has dedicated his whole life for the promotion of art of painting. He is a well-versed painter and artist. ‘The man of the arts Muhammad Javed’ is a wonderful book which depicts his efforts for the art and his marvelous works which he produced in the past years. He started painting at his very young age. He began painting in realistic form but later on he switched over to Impressionistic, abstract style blending of both the styles and producing very interesting works. His brush always remained busy in search of innovations. The good influence of some of the famous artists under whom he worked did much to perfect his sense of colours, composition and also sense of portraying the ideas. All these made him s stylist artist having his own imaginative way of expression, which made him singular among his contemporaries. Muhammad Javed also produced calligraphic creations. Now his paintings decorate the museums and the drawing rooms of numerous art lovers at home and abroad.

The book is a fine collection of different paintings of Muhammad Javed, his calligraphic work, his pictures ranging from his student time to present and the different articles written about the painter and published in different renowned newspapers and journals. Muhammad Javed no doubt has played an important role in strengthening the function of art and culture due to his individual style. The book is an asset for the students of art. There are many things to learn in this book.

The review might be incomplete without acknowledging the laborious effort which Dr Shaukat Mahmood did in editing this book. He is also one of the senior most artists of our country. He is also serving as HEC professor and coordinator at Research Centre of Art and Design, University of the Punjab. He is an eminent educationist, research scholar and political cartoonist. He has drawn cartoons under the nom de plume of Maxim which is a household name in Pakistan. Over 200,000 of his cartoons have been published in newspapers and journals so far.

Title: The Man of the arts Muhammad Javed | Edited By: Dr Shaukat Mahmood | Genre: Art | Pages: 241 | Price: Rs.2500 | Publisher: Pakistan Writers Cooperative Society