DANCERS
signed Seif lower right
oil on board
33.5 x 48cm; 13 1/4 x 19in
36 x 50.5cm; 14 1/4 x 20in (framed)

Property of a Private Collector, Alexandria

Born in Alexandria, Seif Wanly was raised in a French-speaking Turkish aristocratic family and was privately tutored in his family house. Seif Wanly and his brother, Adham (see lot 59), started developing an interest in painting and art. They attended Italian painter Ottorino Becchi's new studio in Alexandria, Egypt. Becchi introduced them to avant-garde movements like Futurism and Cubism; these two techniques formed the basis from which Wanly developed his personal style defined by angular lines, bright shades and colourful geometric shapes.

Becchi left Egypt and the Wanly brothers set up their own studio in Alexandria in the 1940s, in collaboration with filmmaker Mohammed Bayoumid. Their studio is frequently credited with bringing attention to the art of the region.

The brothers travelled extensively after the Second World War, particularly during the 1950s to France, Italy and Spain, where they sketched and painted scenes of ballet, opera, theatre performances and landscapes. In 1957, he travelled to Nubia to create a collection of paintings and drawings depicting life in Upper Egypt. This project was initiated by the government to document the culture and conditions of the area before the relocation necessary for the construction of the Aswan High Dam. During this project Seif Wanly worked with other well-known artists of their generation, including Tahia Halim and Hussein Bikar.

The Wanly brothers were close both in life and work and, after Adham died in 1959, Seif's grief was reflected heavily in his art. The brothers were pioneers in introducing modern pictorial trends to Alexandria, depicting international subjects, and moving away from the folklorist style of their contemporaries.