Renowned artist Maqbool Fida Husain, whose paintings made waves and stirred controversies across the globe, passed away in a London hospital on Thursday.

According to reports, the artist, who was 95, died of a heart attack.

Husain was in a self-imposed exile from India since 2006 after his paintings of some Hindu deities led to life threats, said a Times of India report.

He was, without any doubt, one of the most celebrated painters of the world and his paintings put India on the world map. Husain first became well-known as an artist in the late 1940s.

According to Forbes magazine, he has been called the "Picasso of India".