Ali Omar Ermes

Dubai, Meem Gallery; Kuwait City, Dar Al-Funoon, Ali Omar Ermes, 2008, n.p., illustrated in colour

Ed. Sajid Rizvi, Reaching Out: Conversations on Islamic Art with Ali Omar Ermes, London 1993, pp. 28-29, illustrated in colour

Condition: This work is in good condition. There is slight creasing on the central vertical axis due to mounting and slight creasing throughout due to the nature of the medium and inherent of the artist's working process.
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The full forth ode by the pre-Islamic poet Turfan Ibnu Abd

"Arabic letter forms are the basis of Ermes' paintings, and as such they speak volumes about his beliefs, about the culture from which he comes, and about the ultimate source of his inspiration."
Exhibition Catalogue, Dubai, Meem Gallery; Kuwait City, Dar Al-Funoon, Ali Omar Ermes, 2008, n.p.

This magnificent painting is the largest work ever to be offered at public auction by the eminent calligrapher Ali Omar Ermes, the artist's fascination with Arabic letter forms is truly captured in this monumental homage to the fourth ode of the Mu'allaqat al Saba'a, the famed Prize Poems.

A world renowned calligrapher, and a fixture on the international art scene, Ali Omar Ermes is one of the most celebrated artist/calligraphers of the last thirty-five years.

A painter first and foremost, Ermes' compositions revolve around the letter form of the Arabic alphabet. Working in a wide variety of sizes and proportions, the artist challenges calligraphic principles by rearranging passages of text according to his own artistic vision, using a range of colours and working on a monumental scale creating rhythmic and captivating compositions that do not require translation. Although the artist flouts tradition in scale, palette and calligraphic arrangement he continues to work on traditional hand-made paper, as he has in this masterpiece.

Ermes' epic painting The Fourth Ode is the largest of a group of seven paintings that celebrates the Seven Odes of Arabic poetry, al Mu'allaqat al Saba'a, known in English as The Prize Poems. When a poem was judged to be exceptional it was embroidered in gold on silk cloth, and hung at the ka'ba as a sign of general acclaim, therefore retaining a notable place in the history of Arabic literature.

In this magnificent work, Ermes pays homage to the pre-Islamic poet Turfah Ibnu Abd who wrote the poem. Ermes depicts the full 106 lines of the ode for which Turfah won such high acclaim. Though he died at the age of 26 and he pre-dated the Islamic period, Turfah's work has placed him firmly in the pantheon of great Arab poets.

This magnificent painting, with its amalgamation of various letter forms in varying sizes, painted across vast sections of luminous colour is arguably one of Ali Omar Ermes' greatest works to date.