Syed Jahangir

Syed Jahangir (born 1935) is a senior figure in Bangladeshi art — a painter of elegant, considered oil works that have evolved over more than six decades from careful realism toward a looser, more lyrical pictorial language.

Born in Dhaka, he studied at the Government Institute of Fine Arts before going abroad to deepen his skills. His paintings span portraiture, landscape, still life, and abstraction, always marked by refined draughtsmanship and a sensitive approach to colour.

Jahangir was among the generation of artists who helped establish Bangladesh's visual art infrastructure after independence in 1971. He participated in founding exhibitions and teaching programmes that laid the groundwork for today's flourishing art scene.

His later works are particularly valued for their quality of light — luminous surfaces that seem to glow from within, achieving warmth through careful layering of translucent oil glazes. He has exhibited in Dhaka, Kolkata, London, and across Southeast Asia.