Fouad Kamel

Mrs. Mona Kamel, Cairo 
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in the 1980s

Condition: This work is in very good condition. Some scattered faint scratches to the surface of the painting, all inherent to the artist's choice of medium. Upon closer inspection a hairline diagonal paper tear from the centre to the right edge. A faint and light paint loss alongside the edges, most probably due to the frames friction to the borders. Some microscopic craquelure to the black sections of the upper part of the board. The paper is slightly undulated in some areas, in line with the creative process. Colour: The colour in the catalogue illustration is accurate, with the overall tonality being softer.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

7 Rare Egyptian works from the Distinguished Collection of Mrs. Schernig, Germany

Ursula Schernig’s passion for the arts started from her days at university and has remained an essential part of her life ever since. After finishing her studies at the University of History of Arts in Erlangen, Germany, Mrs. Schernig worked in the educational field for some years. She began her career in the arts as early as 1971, where she curated numerous exhibitions in The Netherlands. This experience in curating demonstrated her potential in the art world which subsequently led to the launch of her first gallery in 1978 under the name of Kunstgalerie am Ronhof in Fürth.

With the support of her husband, Mr. Gerhard Schernig, the couple relocated to Cairo in 1981 to embrace the ever-growing and rich cultural scene that this city had to offer. The couples’ affiliation with the arts continued in their new location as Mr. Schernig began teaching music at the city’s Deutsche Evangelische Oberschule, as well as supporting Mrs. Schernig’s newest establishment of the Hassan Ragab Gallery for Modern Egyptian Art. Imbuing the local scene and aura, the gallery was situated in a houseboat on the River Nile.

During her years at the gallery, Mrs. Schernig exhibited works from established and institutional Egyptian artists such as: Abdel Hadi El Gazzar, Hamed Nada and Kamel Khalifa, as well as launching the careers of young and aspiring artists of the time including Anna Boghigian. Profoundly passionate and involved in the Egyptian art scene, she started working with many local artists from the rural areas. She supported them through solo and group exhibitions at the Gallery; Sheikh Ramandan Abu Suelem, Hassan el Shark and Sayed Amin Fayed were among the artists she promoted. Throughout her days in Cairo, Mrs. Schernig, alongside her husband, began collecting many of the artists she represented and became close to, in an effort to preserve and support the local arts scene. This passion of collecting is reflected in this group where the avant-garde themes meet traditional Egyptian subjects. The works presented in this section were all collected between 1985 and 1990 when the gallery was most active, the majority acquired directly from the artists or their estates. The Schernig family stayed in Egypt until 1989. 

Sotheby’s is particularly delighted to present five rare works by the Egyptian artist Fouad Kamel (lot 22, 23, 24, 25, 27), one of the signatories of the Art and Liberty Manifesto Vive L’Art Dégénéré, alongside his contemporaries and fellow participants – Amy Nimr (lot 26) and Mayo (Antoine Malliarakis) (lot 28).  

Topical to the political environment we currently live in, the Art and Liberty movement established itself in resistance to the rise of the right-wing radicalism in Europe during World War II and a rejection of fascism and nationalism that was spreading across the region. Two seminal exhibitions in 2016 chronicle this movement: a pivotal traveling exhibition entitled “Art et Liberté: Rupture Guerre et Surréalisme en Egypte (1938-1948)” at the Centre Pompidou in Paris from October 19^th through January 16^th which has travelled to Reina Sofia in Madrid and will be on view from February 14, 2017 through May 28, 2017 (curated by Sam Bardaoul and Till Fellrath); and will continue to travel in 2016 to K20 Dusseldorf and the Tate Liverpool. This exhibition was preceded by a cumulative survey exhibition, which in addition represented the art movements that followed the Art and Liberty movement and which was hosted in Cairo on October 2016 entitled When Art becomes Liberty: The Egyptian Surrealists (1938 – 1965). This was coordinated by the Sharjah Art Foundation and curated by Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi and Dr. Salah Hassan. 

The Art and Liberty movement group was founded by writer and thinker Georges Henein in 1938, as a rebellion not only to the rise of fascism but also to the norms of politics, arts and intelligentsia. Heinen penned the manifesto “Art and Liberty Manifesto Vive L’Art Dégénéré” which was signed by 37 lawyers, artists and intellectuals and was mentioned in al majallah al jadidah January 1939. It was later published in the April issue of the British Surrealist Magazine and in the London Bullertin, and mentioned in February 1929 in Clé a french publication of FIARI. The decree stressed the importance of individualism and imagination as the greatest revolutionary forces. It was written in both French and Arabic and widely distributed throughout Cairo.

At this time, Egypt was a haven for many artists, poets, writers and critics. This young group of liberators believed that Egypt could nurture their dreams of liberation and freedom of expression where Socialist beliefs could be embraced and advocated. They rebelled against the current artistic, social and political situation, abolishing conventions, and standing up for their independence of thought within a conformist society. Fine art is arguably the best example of the influence of the Surrealist movement in Egypt, as unlike literature, it offered its audience the “universal language of colours and symbols (Luthi, al-Ḥaraka ’s-sūryālīya ’l-miṣrīya, p.139). Further, these artists have had a fundamental impact on the Egyptian art scene, providing a heritage that remains omnipresent in Egyptian culture to date.

LONG LIVE DEGENERATE ART, A MANIFESTO 

We know with what hostility current society looks upon any new literary or artistic creation that directly or indirectly threatens the intellectual disciplines and moral values of behavior on which it depends for a large part of its own life – its survival.

This hostility is appearing today in totalitarian countries, especially in Hitler’s Germany, through the most despicable attacks against an art that these tasseled brutes, promoted to the rank of omniscient judges, qualify as degenerate.

All the achievements of contemporary artistic genius from Cézanne to Picasso – the product of the ultimate in freedom, strength and human feeling – have been received with insults and repression. We believe that it is mere idiocy and folly to reduce modern art, as some desire, to a fanaticism for any particular religion, race or nation.

Along these lines we see only the imprisonment of thought, whereas art is known to be an exchange of thought and emotions shared by all humanity, one that knows not these artificial boundaries.

Vienna has been left to a rabble that has torn Renoir’s paintings and burned the writings of Freud in public places. The best works by great German painters such as Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Karl Hoffer, Kokoschka, George Grosz and Kandinsky have been confiscated and replaced by Nazi art of no value. The same recently took place in Rome where a committee was formed to purge literature, and, performing its duties, decided to eliminate works that went against nationalism and race, as well as any work raising pessimism.

O men of art, men of letters! Let us take up the challenge together! We stand absolutely as one with this degenerate art. In it resides all the hopes of the future. Let us work for its victory over the new Middle Ages that are rising in the heart of Europe.

The following artists, writers, journalists and lawyers have signed this manifesto:

Ibrahim Wassily, Ahmed Fahmy, Edouard Pollack, Edouard Levy, Armand Antis, Albert Israel, Albert Koseiry, Telmessany, Alexandra Mitchkowivska, Emile Simon, Angelo Paulo, Angelo De Riz, Anwar Kamel, Annette Fadida, A. Paulitz, L. Galenti, Germain Israel, George Henein, Hassan Sobhi, A. Rafo, Zakaria AL Azouny, Samy Riad, Samy Hanouka, Escalette, Abd El Din, Mohamed Nour, Nadaf Selair, Hassia, Henry Domani.

Cairo, December 22, 1938.