02 Paintings, Middle East Artists, Anna Boghiguian's Alexandria , with Footnotes, #69

Anna Boghiguian, B. 1947, EGYPTIAN

ALEXANDRIA, JUNE - SEPT.

Oil on canvas

50 by 50cm.; 19 5/8 by 19 5/8 in.

Private Collection

Alexandria is a Mediterranean port city in Egypt. Founded in c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria grew rapidly and became a major centre of Hellenic civilisation, eventually replacing Memphis, in present-day Greater Cairo, as Egypt's capital. During the Hellenistic period, it was home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria that ranked among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as well as the storied Library of Alexandria. Today, the library is reincarnated in the disc-shaped, ultramodern Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Its 15th-century seafront Qaitbay Citadel is now a museum. Called the "Bride of the Mediterranean" by locals, Alexandria is a popular tourist destination and an important industrial centre due to its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. More on Alexandria

Anna Boghiguian, B. 1947, EGYPTIAN

RAMLEH, JUNE - SEPT.

Oil on canvas,

50 by 50cm.; 19 5/8 by 19 5/8 in.

Private Collection

Ramleh is a suburb of Alexandria. 

Anna Boghiguian, B. 1947, EGYPTIAN. Born in Cairo, Egypt in 1946, Anna Boghiguian studied art and music at the Concordia University in Montreal and political science and economics at the American University in Cairo. Throughout her travels the artist developed an intimate visual diary, drawing and colouring her surroundings assimilated with text, poetry and sketches. Every image is marked with a different kind of dynamic, often spontaneous.

Anna Boghiguian has been widely exhibited in renowned institutions throughout the world since the late 1980s. Her works can be found in the permanent collections of Neue Galerie, Kassel, Germany; Institut du Monde Arabe Paris, France; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, UAE; Kadist Art Foundation, Paris, France and Musée Carre d'Art, Nîmes, France. More on Anna Boghiguian

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, Adham Wanly's The singer, with Footnotes, #68

Adham Wanly (Egyptian, 1908–1959)

The singer , c. 1952

Oil on board

45.5 x 59 cm. (17.9 x 23.2 in.)

Private Collection

Adham Wanly (1908 in Alexandria, Egypt – 1959) was a painter who learnt in the atelier of the Italian Otorino Becchi 1932, then set up his own atelier with his brother Seif Wanly (above), and participated in many local and international exhibition specially Venice, São Paulo (Brasil), Alexandria Biennale.

The Museum of Modern Art in Alexandria displays many of his paintings. The artist is mostly famous for recording the life of the theater and circus. He specialized in the ballet and opera that is featured in the Cairo Opera House and the Theatre Mohamed Ali in Alexandria. The paintings render the stage lights and movements of the people involved and he is able to express the light and agility in various ways. He had a talent in caricature in which he used in mockery of himself and the people of his time. There is now a museum in his memory. More on Adham Wanly

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 Work, Middle East Artists, Lalla Essaydi's Harem #7, with Footnotes, #67

Lalla Essaydi (MAROC, NÉE EN 1956)

Harem #7, c 2009

Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum with an anti UV laminate

60 × 48 in | 152.4 × 121.9 cm

Private collection

"Traditionally, the presence of men defines public spaces: streets, meeting places, you, the workplaces," writes Essaydi. "Women, on the other hand, have been confined to private spaces, to the architecture of homes. In my photographs, I restrict women to these spaces, their spaces clean, partitioned off by walls and controlled by men" -Lalla Essaydi More on this work

Moroccan born photographer Lalla Essaydi explores Arab female identity by hand-painting Arabic calligraphy in henna on different surfaces such as female bodies, fabric and walls. Through her compositions, Essaydi references nineteenth century Orientalist style and rejects traditional objectified representations of Arab women. The artist critiques French painters such as Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and Eugène Delacroix who often painted middle-eastern harems filled with eroticized Arab female bodies. Her photographs address and deconstruct the complex power structures imposed on the Arab female body by alluding to historical stereotypes. 

In her series Harem, Essaydi refers to the dangerous nature of the harem, contrasting the idealistic setting that Western artists previously depicted. The artist places her figures within the Moroccan Palace Dar El Basha and dresses them in patterns similar to the palace’s mosaics, wood carvings and stained glass. By camouflaging the women’s bodies into the background, Essaydi illustrates how women seemingly appear as another piece of décor in the room. To counter societal norms, Essaydi utilizes calligraphy and applies henna to adorn the female bodies. The text is not necessarily meant to be read or understood, but rather alludes symbolically to the restrictions faced by women in today’s societies and how they find their voice despite all imposed restrictions. Through the perspective of an Arab woman living in a Western world, Lalla Essaydi redefines Arab female identity. More on Lalla Essaydi

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, THE ART OF WAR, Louai Kayyali's Then What, with Footnotes #66

Louai Kayyali, 1934-1978, SYRIAN

Then What, c. 1965

190 x 172 cm

Oil on wood, 1965

Private collection

In Kayyali’s work eleven figures (seven women, two boys and one man) are crowded together as though walking in unison. With most of their gazes turned away from the viewer, they are lost in the suggested horror of their surroundings as several peer up at an invisible, looming force. In the center of the canvas is a man whose features are distorted as the artist has rendered his face with quick brush marks and few details. 

Louai Kayyali, 1934-1978, SYRIAN

Then What, c. 1965

Detail

Hunched over and overpowered by an incomprehensible weight, he seems to carry the burden of mankind. His arched back, angular chin and hidden face resemble Masaccio’s Adam in “The Expulsion from Paradise” (1427). Behind him stands a female figure in profile, her head stretched far into the sky, as she beckons the heavens for reprieve and reflects the inescapable posture of a body that is overrun by grief. Kayyali has painted her face in a near identical rendering of Eve in the above-mentioned fresco, as he simply rearranged the central figures of Masaccio’s composition. More on this painting

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, Louay Kayyali's Maaloula, with Footnotes, #65

Louay Kayyali (Syrian, 1934-1978)

Maaloula, c. 1963

Oil on canvas

29¼ x 36in. (75 x 94.5cm.)

Private collection

Maaloula is one of the main subjects in Kayyali’s oeuvre; the present work is painted only two years after the artist graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti and it is one of the finest portrayals of this mountainous Aramaic town. All elements are intricately balanced, orchestrated by his ability in articulating the subtleties of line and perspective of the holy city’s mountain and its sheltering village and soothing skies.

The village of Maaloula is located to the northeast of Damascus and built into the rugged mountainside, with a population of just a few hundred. Maaloula, from the Aramaic word ma'la meaning "entrance", is the only place where the western dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ, is still spoken. It is home to two important monasteries, Mar Sarkis and Mar Taqla. The Mar Sarkis monastery was named after a Roman soldier, executed for his Christian beliefs. The Mar Taqla monastery holds the remains of St. Taqla (Thecla), daughter of one of Seleucid's princes, and pupil of St. Paul. According to legend, in the 1st century AD, soldiers pursued St.Taqla and her father because of her Christian faith. She came upon a mountain and after praying, the mountain split to reveal a gorge like that of Petra, through which she escaped. The town is named after this entrance to the mountain. Naturally there are many variations of this story among the residents of Maaloula, which adds to its historical and spiritual significance. More on Maaloula

Louai Kayyali

Maloula, c. 1965

Oil on canvas

76 x 48 cm.; 30 by 18 7/8 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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01 Painting, Middle East Artists, Louai Kayyali's The match Seller, with Footnotes, #64

Louai Kayyali, 1934-1978, SYRIAN

The match Seller, c. 1974

Oil on masonite

90 by 80cm

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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01 Painting, Middle East Artists, Easam Darawshi's Expressive Portrait #2, with Footnotes, #63

Easam Darawshi, Palestinian, b. 1984

Expressive Portrait #2, c. 2021

Acrylic on canvas

78 7/10 × 41 3/10 in, 200 × 105 cm

Private collection

Essam Darawshi was born in Nazareth in 1984. He studied Physiotherapy at the Faculty of Medicine at Genoa University, Italy. In 2010, Easam enrolled in the Academy of Arts at the University of Genoa where he began his journey as an artist, driven by his passion, focusing on the Arabic Calligraphy as a form of contemporary art.

In 2013, Easam went back to his hometown where he started working on figurative and expressionist artworks influenced by graffiti, murals, and street art. His portraits do not capture the external figure of a subject, they rather serve as a portal for a journey of self-exploration and an attempt to experience a variety of forms and search for identity. Easam believes that facial expressions cannot be captured in a single moment or form hence his canvases reflect the complexity of emotions surrounding identity; one's relationship to the surrounding environment and contradicting feelings of belonging. Easam’s work is deeply influenced by social conflict and psychological paradoxes of present-day life. He uses different techniques and applies a variety of mixed media and materials. More on Essam Darawshi

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, Rafat Asad's Haifa, with Footnotes, #62

Rafat Asad, Palestinian, b. 1974

Haifa II, c. 2018

Acrylic on canvas

23 3/5 × 23 3/5 in, 60 × 60 cm

Private collection

Haifa is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of 285,316 in 2019. The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area in Israel. 

Over the millennia, the Haifa area has changed hands: being conquered and ruled by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Israelites, Phoenicians, Persians, Hasmoneans, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, and the British. More on Haifa

Rafat Asad, Palestinian, b. 1974

Haifa I, c. 2018

Acrylic on canvas

23 3/5 × 23 3/5 in, 60 × 60 cm

Private collection

Rafat Asad was born in Nablus in 1974 and was awarded a Bachelors degree in fine art from Al Najah University in 1998. Altough he is a multi-disciplinary artist- producing sound and light installations, video and performances- Asad describes himself as a painter first and foremost. Starting as an abstract painter, his work has evolved to focus on Palestinian Landscape. This had made his recent work unique, brilliant and somewhat “reductionist” in style.

He has participated in group exhibitions in Palestine, Europe, Japan, the US and the Arab world. Asad’s works have been shown in five Solo Exhibitions at a variety of venues including Nablus (1999), Ramallah (2006) And London (2006). More on Rafat Asad

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, Safwan Dahoul's UNTITLED with Footnotes, #58

 

Safwan Dahoul, B. 1961, SYRIAN

UNTITLED, c. 1992

Oil and gold leaf on wood 

25 by 20cm.; 9 7/8 by 7 7/8 in

Private collection

Safwan Dahoul was born in 1961 in Hama, Syria, Dahoul was initially trained by leading modernists at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus before travelling to Belgium, where he earned a doctorate from the Higher Institute of Plastic Arts in Mons. Upon returning to Syria, he began teaching at the Faculty of Fine Arts and was a prominent member of the Damascus art scene. In the span of a decade, Dahoul nurtured a new generation of artists as an active mentor whose evolving aesthetic often ignited new directions in painting. Given the trajectory and status of his painting style, Dahoul’s career is regarded as a crucial link between modern and contemporary Arab art. More on Safwan Dahoul

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, Hussein Bikar's THE LANDLORD with Footnotes, #57

 

Hussein Bikar, 1912 - 2002, EGYPTIAN

THE LANDLORD, c. 1984

Oil on paper 

46 by 27cm.; 18 1/8 by 10 1/2 in

Private collection

Hussein Amin Bicar (2 January 1913 in Alexandria – 16 November 2003) was one of Egypt’s most prominent artists of the 20th century, after graduating from the Cairo higher school of fine arts in 1934, he spent more than 60 years of his life teaching art at schools and universities and then through the press, he is credited for initiating a style of journalistic art that elevated illustrating for news papers to a level close to that of the fine art, he is known for his simple and clear style reflecting the influence of Pharaonic art with its harmony, serenity and mystic. Bicar’s journalistic contributions go beyond illustrations to include art criticism and narrative poetry. Being the first Egyptian artist to illustrate Arabic children’s books, Bicar has played a major role in establishing and promoting this field.

Furthermore, his portraits and oil paintings depicting graceful Egyptian peasants, Nubian scenes, Alexandria and Pharaonic themes as well as his elegant, gracious nature has earned him great recognition and honors. In the words of late journalist Mustafa Amin:"he is not a single artist, he is a master of several arts…he is a painter, photographer, poet, musician and philosopher".

He was of Turkish Cypriot extraction and a member of the Bahá'í Faith. More on Hussein Bikar

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, Shakir Hassan Al-Said's Untitled (Town), with Footnotes, #55

 Shakir Hassan Al-Said, 1925-2004, IRAQI

Untitled (Town), c. 1951

Watercolour and pencil on paper

24 by 20cm.; 9 1/2 by 7 7/8 in.

Private collection

Shakir Hassan Al Said (1925–2004), an Iraqi painter, sculptor and writer, is considered one of Iraq's most innovative and influential artists.

Born in Samawa, Al Said lived, worked and died in Bagdad. In 1948 he received a degree in social science from the Higher Institute of Teachers in Baghdad and in 1954 a diploma in painting from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad. He continued his studies at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris until 1959. During his stay in Paris, he discovered Western modern art in galleries and Sumerian art at the Louvre. He returned to Baghdad in 1959.

He co-founded in 1951 with Jawad Saleem Jama'et Baghdad lil Fann al-Hadith (Baghdad Modern Art Group), one of the most unusual arts movements in the Middle East in the post–World War II, itwas called Istilham al-turath (Seeking inspiration from tradition), considered as "the basic point of departure, to achieve through modern styles, a cultural vision". He headed the group after the death of Saleem in 1961.

In 1971, he founded Al Bu'd al Wahad (the One-dimension Group)", which promoted the modern calligraphic school in Arab art.

His work is collected by major museums, such as Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, the Guggenheim in New York, and Sharjah Art Museum. More on Shakir Hassan Al Said

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, Abdelaziz Gorgi's CHKOBA PLAYERS; EVE OF RAMADAN, with Footnotes, #52

Abdelaziz Gorgi, 1928-2008

JOUEURS DE CHKOBA; VEILLÉE DU RAMADAN (CHKOBA PLAYERS; EVE OF RAMADAN), circa 1960-1969

Acrylic, gold leaf, ink and pen on paper

76 by 55cm.; 29 7/8 by 21 3/4 in.

Private collection

The chkobba is a card game drawn from the scopa and brought to Tunisia by Italian migrants.

It is played with traditional cards . The game is between two players or two teams of two players most often but it is possible, although infrequent, to play three or four independent players. 

Depending on the regions, provinces and even villages, the rules of the game and the counting of points vary. More on The chkobba

Abdelaziz Gorgi's oeuvre is a testament to a strong attachment to Tunisia, both in its form and practice.  As one of the founders and last president of the Ecole de Tunis, of whom he remained an active practicing artist alongside Jallal Ben Abdallah and Hedi Turki, Gorgi's paintings and tapestries are colourful, repeatedly featuring tokens such as 'chechias', the traditional Tunisian headgear or Chkoba, the traditional Tunisian card game, which both act to symbolize his personal background. Gorgi was also very active in encouraging the arts within his community, designing the first Tunisian postage stamp in 1956 and establishing the Tunis School of painting which he presided over until 1983. In 2000 his efforts were repaid when the Tunisian ministry of Culture announced that the country to be celebrating a ‘Gorgi Year’ of culture. More on Abdelaziz Gorgi

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, Adham Wanly's Le monastère copte, désert de Mariut/ The Coptic Monastery, Mariut Desert, with Footnotes, #56

Adham Wanly, 1908-1959, EGYPTIAN

Le monastère copte, désert de Mariut/ The Coptic Monastery, Mariut Desert, c. 1953

Oil on paper

28,5 x 33,5 cm

Private collection

The late Pope Kyrillos VI established this Coptic Orthodox monastery in 1959 in commemoration of Saint Mina (Menas), his patron saint, in an isolated desert area very close to the archaeological site and historical city of Abu Mena in Mariut, near Alexandria, Egypt.

Abu Mena is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and was once an important Christian pilgrimage site during the 4th to 7th cent. A.D. Numerous little clay bottles (ampullae), on which Saint Mina's name and picture are engraved, were discovered by archeologists in diverse countries around the world, such as Heidelberg, Germany; Milan, Italy; Dalmatia, Croatia; Marseille, France; Dengla, Sudan; and Jerusalem. These pottery ampullae (small holy water and oil flasks brought from pilgrimage places as a souvenir, and mass-produced in Early Byzantine times) come from Abu Mena, near Alexandria in Egypt.

Countless miracles have happened and continue to happen until this day there through the intercessions of Saint Mina the Martyr, Pope Kyrillos VI and the late Abba Mina Ava-Mina (late abbot of the new monastery), whose relics (all three) are preserved in the monastery. More on the Coptic Monastery, Mariut Desert

Adham Wanly (1908 in Alexandria, Egypt – 1959) was a painter who learnt in the atelier of the Italian Otorino Becchi 1932, then set up his own atelier with his brother Seif Wanly (above), and participated in many local and international exhibition specially Venice, São Paulo (Brasil), Alexandria Biennale.

The Museum of Modern Art in Alexandria displays many of his paintings. The artist is mostly famous for recording the life of the theater and circus. He specialized in the ballet and opera that is featured in the Cairo Opera House and the Theatre Mohamed Ali in Alexandria. The paintings render the stage lights and movements of the people involved and he is able to express the light and agility in various ways. He had a talent in caricature in which he used in mockery of himself and the people of his time. There is now a museum in his memory. More on Adham Wanly

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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