Yusuf Arakkal

Yusuf Arakkal (1945–2016) was an Indian painter from Karnataka working in oils and acrylics. His figurative practice depicted the human figure in states of isolation, vulnerability, and quiet dignity.

If you have a work attributed to Yusuf Arakkal, contact: india@privatkunst.ch

Privatkunst.ch grew from a personal interest in works that carry a history. There is always more behind a work of art than first appears — and most stories are not yet fully told.

Many objects in private hands were never properly assessed — because no one with the right knowledge looked at them. That has changed. Open research archives, digitised auction catalogues, and image analysis now make it possible to understand a work in new ways and with a depth of information that simply did not exist before. A work rarely stands alone. And it carries its history within it — if you know how to read it.

If you are interested in how archives, reference sources and new technologies are contributing to the assessment of art, see the article here → — currently only in German.

For an overview of Indian art — modern, contemporary, and the recognition women artists are finally receiving — read here →