01 Painting, Middle East Artists, Jellal Ben Abdallah's LA MUSICIENNE, with Footnotes, #61

Jellal Ben Abdallah, (1921-2017)

LA MUSICIENNE/ THE MUSICIAN GIRL

Mixed technique on paper

86 X 54 CM (33 7/8 X 21 1/4 IN.)

Private collection

Jellal Ben Abdallah, Tunisia (1921 - 2017) enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts de Tunis but stayed only three weeks. After winning the first prize in painting and receiving a scholarship, he moved to Paris for three months in 1949. In Paris, Ben Abdallah joined the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Montparnasse district and also traveled to Venice, Florence and Rome. Still, Ben Abdallah is more considered to be a self-taught artist and acquired experiences from his encounters with European or Tunisian professional painters. He progressively entered the Tunisian artistic circles and was a founding member of the École de Tunis under the supervision of Pierre Boucherle in 1949. For a while, Jellal Ben Abdallah was passionate about the Italian Renaissance and primitives, but the initial artist's inspiration was the Tunisian popular culture. He fancied illustrating moments of daily life, particularly with female figures, through very poetic scenes in the style of a miniaturist. His drawings were delicate, and his lines simplified. In parallel, he was commissioned to execute frescoes or decors for many establishments and institutions in France and Tunisia. Jellal Ben Abdallah passed away in 2017 in Sidi Bou Saïd. More on Jellal Ben Abdallah

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01 Painting, Middle East Artists, Nasser Ovissi's Rakhsh and the Simorgh, with Footnotes, #60

Nasser Ovissi, (IRAN, BORN 1934)

Rakhsh and the Simorgh, c. 2010

Paint on gold leaf,

70 x 50cm (27 9/16 x 19 11/16in).

Private collection

Rakhsh ("luminous") is the stallion of protagonist Rostam in the Persian national epic, Shahnameh of Ferdowsi.

The color of Rakhsh is described as "rose leaves that have been scattered upon a saffron ground" and it is first noticed by Rostam amongst the herds of horses brought over from Zabulistan and Kabul. In this first encounter Rakhsh is described as a mighty colt with the chest and shoulders of a lion and it appears to have the strength of an elephant. He is highly intelligent and his loyalty is legendary. No one but Rostam ever rides Rakhsh, and Rakhsh recognizes no one but Rostam as his master. Also, he is the only horse ever that Rostam could ride, since his great strength and weight would kill other horses.

Due to divine favor protecting Rostam, Rakhsh lives an unusually long life. Rostam and Rakhsh both die by the treason of Rostam's half-brother, Shaghad. More on Rakhsh and the Simorgh

Nasser Ovissi is an American-Iranian painter whose work is characterized by stylized figures of Arabic women and horses. Set amidst geometric patterns and decorative elements, his figures seem to merge into and out of the space behind them. “My work is dedicated to the beauty of life and I hope those who experience my work will walk away with an experience of beauty.” Born in Tehran, Iran in 1934, Ovissi studied Law and Political Sciences at the University of Tehran before studying fine art at Beaux Fine Art in Rome. The artist has achieved numerous awards and honors, including being exhibited at the 1959 Paris Biennial and a Grand Prize at the 1962 Biennale of Fine Arts of Tehran. Ovissi lives and works in Reston, VA. His works are included in the collections of the Contemporary Art Museum in Madrid and the National Art Gallery of Greece in Athens. More on Nasser Ovissi

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01 Painting, Middle East Artists, Fahrelnissa Zeid's Metropolis, ith Footnotes, #42

Fahrelnissa Zeid,  (TURKEY, 1900-1991)

Metropolis

Mixed media on paper, circa 1950's

74 x 106cm (29 1/8 x 41 3/4in)

Private collection

Fahrelnissa Zeid (7 January 1901 – 5 September 1991) was a Turkish artist best known for her large-scale abstract paintings with kaleidoscopic patterns. Also using drawings, lithographs, and sculptures, her work blended elements of Islamic and Byzantine art with abstraction and other influences from the West. Zeid was one of the first women to go to art school in Istanbul. She lived in different cities and became part of the avant-garde scenes in Istanbul, pre-war Berlin and post-war Paris. Her work has been exhibited at various institutions in Paris, New York, and London, including the Institute of Contemporary Art in 1954. In the 1970s, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she established an art school. In 2017, Tate Modern in London organized a major retrospective of the artist and called her "one of the greatest female artists of the 20th century". 

In the 1930s, she married into the Hashemite royal family of Iraq. More on Fahrelnissa Zeid 

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01 Painting, Middle East Artists, Louai Kayyali's UNTITLED (LADY), with Footnotes, #61

Louai Kayyali, 1934-1978, SYRIAN

UNTITLED (LADY), c. 1974

Oil on masonite

95 by 95cm.; 37 3/8 by 37 3/8 in.

Private Collection

Louay Kayali, (1934–1978) was a Syrian modern artist. Kayali was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1934 and studied art in the Accademia di Belle Arti after having studied at the Al-Tajhiz School where his work was first exhibited in 1952. He met Syrian artist Wahbi Al-Hariri there and the two would share a friendship for the rest of Kayali's life. Al-Hariri would become his mentor as he was for artist Fateh Moudarres that Hariri introduced to Kayali in 1955. Moudarress and Kayali would together represent Syrian modern art at the Venice Biennial Fair. He suffered from depression and died in 1978 from burns incurred from his bed catching fire, reportedly from a cigarette. More on Louay Kayali

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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02 Paintings, Middle East Artists, Ayman Baalbaki's Anonymous, with Footnotes, #56

Ayman Baalbaki (LEBANON, BORN 1975)

Anonymous

Acrylic on carton laid on canvas

70 x 50cm (27 9/16 x 19 11/16in).

Private collection

Ayman Baalbaki (born in 1975 in Adaisseh, Lebanon) is a Lebanese painter. He studied at the Lebanese University and at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris. His large-scale expressionist portraits of fighters made him one of the most popular young Arab artists. 

Born the year the civil war started in Lebanon, Ayman Baalbaki draws most of his inspiration from these events. His paintings often depict destroyed buildings, sometimes occupied by refugees who were forced to leave their homes during the combats. After the 2006 Lebanon War he drew series of scattered structures related to the demolitions consecutive to the bombings of Beirut's southern suburbs.

Ayman Baalbaki's most popular series depict warriors bearing veils or casks. These portraits of anonymous figures became a symbol of the endless conflicts in the Middle East. These paintings have been exhibited worldwide, including the 2011 Venice Biennale. In 2012, Baalbaki participated in Hoods for Heritage, a project consisting of 16 Porsche 911 hoods transformed into art works by artists and designer and auctioned on benefit of the Beirut National Museum. More on Ayman Baalbaki

Ayman Baalbaki (LEBANON, BORN 1975)

Anonymous II

Acrylic on carton laid on canvas

70 x 50cm (27 9/16 x 19 11/16in).

Private collection

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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01 Painting, Middle East Artists, Lorna Selim's Baghdadiyat, with Footnotes, #57

Lorna Selim, (IRAQ, BORN 1928)

Baghdadiyat

Oil on canvas

31 x 26cm (12 3/16 x 10 1/4in).

Private collection

Lorna Selim received a scholarship to study at the Slade School of Fine Arts, London, where she received a diploma in painting and design in 1948. The following year she received an Art Teachers' Diploma (ATD) from the London University Institute of Education. From 1949–50 she taught art at the Tapton House Grammar School, Chesterfield, England. In the UK, she met Jewad Selim and they married in 1950. Returning to Baghdad, Lorna Selim became a member of the Baghdad Modern Art Group, Art Friends Society, and Society of Iraqi Plastic Artists. During the 1950s, she exhibited her work with the Baghdad Modern Art Group and the Pioneers Group. She was an art teacher at Ta'ssisiya School, Baghdad, in 1951, and participated in the Iraqi Pavilion Design for the International Fair held in Damascus in 1954. Along with Mohamed Ghani Hikmet, she supervised the completion of Jewad Selim's Monument of Freedom after his sudden death in 1961.

She taught drawing and painting at the Girls College in 1961, and the architecture department of the Engineering College, Baghdad University, in 1965. She lives and works in Abergavenny, Wales. Her work is held in collections including Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha. More on Lorna Selim

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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