Sunday, September 4, 2022

02 Paintings, Middle East Artists, Paul Guiragossian's Mother and Child in Mandorla, with Footnotes, #48

Paul Guiragossian (Lebanese, 1926-1993)
Mother and Child in Mandorla, c. 1982
Oil on canvas
39 3/8 x 31½in. (100 x 80cm.)
Private collection

Child in Mandorla by Modern master Paul Guiragossian represents the artist's quest to find harmony in both his works and his life. Seeking a balance between an expressionist touch that references reality and chromatic elements that express emotional movement and a new reality, the present work shows a deep precision in his brushstroke and composition, serving to highlight the underlying theme of childhood and maternity.

From the 1970s onwards, Guiragossian applied thick brushstrokes to depict elongated abstract figures and multiple layers of paint of vibrant hues that are reminiscent of the tones used by the Fauves artists. In the present work from the early 1980s, Guiragossian combines figurative depictions with broad and flat brushstrokes that highlight his transition into what was to become completely reduced abstract vertical lines. More on this painting
 
Paul Guiragossian (1926 – November 20, 1993) was an Armenian Lebanese painter. Born to Armenian parents, Paul Guiragossian experienced the consequences of exile from a very tender age. Raised in boarding schools, he grew up away from his mother who had to work to make sure her two sons got an education.

Paul Guiragossian (Lebanese, 1926-1993)
Famille autour de l'Enfant (Family around the Child), c. 1985
Watercolour on paper
27 5/8 x 19¾in. (70 x 50cm.)
Private collection

From an early stage in his career, Paul Guiragossian explored the theme of motherhood, often depicting the maternal figure in the centre of his compositions. Separated from his mother at a young age, his portrayal of the female figure reflected on his personal struggles and longing for maternal love. In his works, Guiragossian reveals his reverence for the role of women as virtuous caretakers impersonating love, hope, childhood, suffering, peace and freedom.

In the present enchanting watercolour, Guiragossian's own interpretation of the Mother and Child with saints standing by their side, the mother carries her child with affection, her hands are caressing the new born as if to embrace him and the abstracted figures on her side stand as protectors. All eyes seem to be on the child, whose features and attire, in lighter hues of white and blue, hint at his innocence and purity. More on this painting

In the 1950s, Guiragossian started teaching art in several Armenian schools and worked as an illustrator. He later started his own business with his brother Antoine, painting cinema banners, posters and drawing illustrations for books. Soon after he was discovered for his art and introduced to his contemporaries after which he began exhibiting his works in Beirut and eventually all over the world.

In 1956, Guiragossian won the first prize in a painting competition, which landed him a scholarship by the Italian government to study at The Academy of Fine Arts of Florence.

In 1962, Guiragossian was granted another scholarship, this time by the French Government, to study and paint in Paris at Les Atelier Des MaƮtres De L'Ecole De Paris.

By the mid 1960s Guiragossian had grown to become one of the most celebrated artists in Lebanon and eventually of the Arab world and even though war broke out in the early 1970s, his attachment to Lebanon grew bigger and his works became more colorful with messages of hope for his people.

In 1989, Guiragossian went to Paris to exhibit his works in La Salle Des Pas Perdus in UNESCO and lived in the city with part of his family until 1991. In that year, he had a solo exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe. This exhibition was extended and marked the first solo show at the IMA for any artist. More on Guiragossian





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