Shakir Hassan Al-Said, Bustan Al-Ma'refa (The Orchard Of Knowledge).
Estimate: £60,000–80,000.
In this depiction of abundant, colourful foliage flourishing around a central tree, the artist embraces a subject matter that was dear to him in the early 1950s; the glorification of the Creator and his creatures. The Orchard of Knowledge is a spiritual depiction of a form of paradise through a variety of brightly coloured birds, each mid-flight, communicating with one another, and emphasising the vivid and bright light of the artist's vision of paradise.
20th Century Art / Middle East
24 April 2018 | London
Mahmoud Said, Adam And Eve.
Estimate: £300,000–500,000.
In Adam and Eve, Said depicts two central figures from the Qur'an. They are are pictured as tall, imposing, and almost surreal, locked in a lovers' embrace within a lush desert oasis featuring ripened palm trees, pooling blue canals of the Nile and rolling far-off sand dunes - an idyllic yet familiar Egyptian landscape. Said was known for his constant quest for the “perfect light” in his paintings, reminiscent of Rubens search for mystical light.
20th Century Art / Middle East
24 April 2018 | London
Monir Farmanfarmaian, Recollections I.
Estimate: £160,000–200,000.
Mirrors play a crucial role in Monir’s hypnotic oeuvre, visuals and traditions reflect off one another, creating an infinite doorway to eternity, reflecting the light of one's soul. Guided by the Iranian craftsman, Hajji Ostad Mohammad Navid, Monir produced many mosaics by cutting mirrors and glass into a variety of shapes. These were then arranged into compositions that recall elements of Sufism and carry strong spiritual connotations.
20th Century Art / Middle East
24 April 2018 | London
Sohrab Sepehri, Untitled (Tree Trunks And Village Scene).
Estimate: £200,000–300,000.
Sepehri is of the rare lineage of painters who innovated and yet preserved a traditional aesthetic. His uniquely expressive voice harked back to a wistful perception of his homeland and hometown. Kashan, with its famous desert light, has been painted numerous times by the artist.
20th Century Art / Middle East
24 April 2018 | London
Saliba Douaihy, Composition Abstraite (Abstract Composition).
Estimate: £50,000–70,000.
Untitled’ showcases a deep understanding of the minimalist aesthetic, and the artist’s exceptional ability to handle two key elements in formalist painting: colour and shape. The artist’s passion for the colours and light of the Levant region, and more specifically Lebanon’s mountainous landscape is seen throughout these abstract paintings.
20th Century Art / Middle East
24 April 2018 | London
The 20th Century Art/Middle East sale features a selection of works in which the importance of light to Middle Eastern art is revealed. When the Orientalist painters first travelled from Europe to the Middle East in the 19th century, their immediate discovery was the brightness and intensity of the light in the region. These vibrant and rare shades were something they had never experienced in France, Germany or Italy and this came through in most of their paintings. Throughout the 20th century and even now, the importance of the perfect light is still central to many Middle Eastern artists’ bodies of work. Click ahead to view the slideshow.
20th Century Art / Middle East
24 April 2018 | London