SENEGAL LANDSCAPE
signed BIBI Zogbé lower right; signed BIBI Zogbé on the reverse
oil on canvas
35 x 44.5cm; 13 3/4 x 17 1/2in
44 x 54cm; 17 1/4 x 21 1/4in (framed)

Property of a Private Collector, Dubai

Provenance
Carstens Gallery, Boca Raton
Acquired from the above by the present owner

"She was one of Lebanon’s pioneering artists — one of the first female painters. But, in Lebanon, we never knew much about her…" – Saleh Barakat Gallery

Born in the village of Sahel Alma in Lebanon, Labibé Zogbé (also known as Bibi Zogbé) is one of the foremost Lebanese artists of her generation, with her work featuring globally in major auctions and recently in the Modern focus section of the 2022 edition of Art Dubai.

Zogbé migrated to Argentina in 1906 at the age of sixteen as part of an arranged marriage to the wealthy Tunisian émigré Domingo Samaja. She first trained alongside the Bulgarian master Klin Dimitrof, before beginning her artistic career in Argentina in the early 1930s, with a series of exhibitions across South America. Galería Witcomb in Buenos Aires offered Zogbé her first solo exhibition in 1934, which was a record success – followed by her first European show with the prestigious Galerie Charpentier, Paris. A thirst for adventure led to her travelling extensively, spending time in Africa, where she immersed herself in the cultures of the places she visited and painted portraits. Paris and Dakar were among her favourite locations, living in France after the Second World War before moving to Dakar. She made her long-anticipated move back to Lebanon in 1947 to take part in a collective exhibition at the National Museum of Lebanon and receive the Lebanese Cedar-Medallion of Excellence. She subsequently returned to her native Argentina, where she died in Mar del Plata.

While Zogbé's work is predominantly characterised by an eclectic array of floral compositions joyfully reminiscent of her Lebanese homeland, the present work stands out as part of a series of rare and evocative depictions of the Senegalese countryside and its people, featuring round Bassari huts typical of the West African landscape along with palms, flowering cacti and twisting Baobab trees. The painting embodies her move away from academicism towards a more avant-gardist approach and coincides also with her rare production of portraits, some of which were inspired by the inhabitants of Senegalese villages such as this one. Zogbé is widely celebrated today as a pioneering figure of Modern art in the Levant.