Madathil Vasudevan (born January 15, 1928) is a painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

, sculptor, writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

, art critique and orator. He was born in Panniyannur

Panniyannur

Panniyannur is a census town in Talassery taluk of Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is part of Greater Mahé Region.- Proposed New Mahe Municipality :The proposed New Mahe Municipality comprises:...

 village in Thalassery

Thalassery

Thalassery , also known as Tellicherry, is a city on the Malabar Coast of Kerala, India. This is the second largest city of North Malabar in terms of population. The name Tellicherry is the anglicized form of Thalassery. Thalassery municipality has a population just less than 100,000. Established...

 in northern Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, south India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

—. After completing high school in 1946, he left for Madras to study painting. He learned the basics of painting at the Chennai Govt School of Arts and Crafts under the likes of DP Roy Choudhary and K. C. S. Paniker.

These stalwarts influenced his life and painting to a large extent. At this time, he came into to contact with M Govindan, who helped in changing his perspective on life and thinking.

After coming back from Madras, he joined as staff artist at the Mathrubhumi

Mathrubhumi

Mathrubhumi is a Malayalam language newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. Mathrubhumi was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian freedom struggle against the British.-History:...

 daily in Kozhikode

Kozhikode

Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...

. From 1952 to 1961 he worked there. Again, he went back to Madras and soon joined the 'Southern Languages Book Trust' as art consultant. He worked there from 1961 to 1962.

He continued his pursuit of the art with Madras Lalit Kala academy from 1962 to 1968, New Delhi Lalit Kala Academy (66 to 68), FACT (as art consultant from 68 to 72). He was made the Chairman of Kerala Lalit Kala Academy from 74 to 77.

During this time, he established an organization called Perunthachan, which dealt with the consultancy in the housing sector.

He is also the founder member and present Chairman of Kerala Kalapeedom. He is associated with Navashakti, Gopuram, Sameeksha, Kerala Kavita and Gwala. All of them are literary publications.

The Collection of Critical Essays Devaspandanam is his Magnum Opus.