UNTITLED ABSTRACTION
signed R.Y. / 62 lower right
oil on canvas
49 x 73cm; 19 1/4 x 28 3/4in
53.4 x 77cm; 21 x 30 1/4in (framed)

Property from the Zulficar Family Collection, Alexandria

Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Ramsès Younan was a pioneering Egyptian artist, writer, and intellectual, best known as a founding figure of Cairo’s Art et Liberté movement. Born into a Coptic Christian family in Al-Minya, Younan trained at the School of Fine Arts in Cairo, later teaching drawing across Egypt and publishing influential critiques of French cubism and European art theory. His early paintings, distinguished by smooth, surreal humanoid figures set within vast dreamlike landscapes, stood out among the Egyptian avant-garde and earned him international recognition. He participated in the First Exhibit of Independent Art, shaping both artistic and political dialogue in Egypt.

Younan's engagement extended beyond painting; he was an active art critic and editor for The New Magazine, contributing to Arabic-language journals and exploring the philosophical and cultural issues influencing society. In 1947, he relocated to Paris, co-founded the publishing house La Part du Sable, and distanced himself from mainstream Surrealism. Alongside Georges Henein, Younan critiqued Surrealism's fixation on mythology, arguing it distracted from true liberation. This period of philosophical evolution led to a decade-long hiatus from painting and a "crisis of expression," during which he worked for Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française. His time in Europe ended abruptly in 1956, when he was deported for protesting anti-Arab sentiment during the Suez Crisis.

Upon his return to Egypt, Younan experienced a creative rebirth. With a government stipend beginning in 1960, he moved away from the recognisable figures of his youth, embracing a dense abstraction layered with earthy tones, ochres, browns, and greys, as seen in the present lot, which reflected his philosophical rejection of decipherable truths and forms. He represented Egypt at the biennials of Saô Paulo, Belgrade, and Venice in the early 1960s, further cementing his influence. Although he died in Cairo at the age of 53, Younan’s legacy has endured. Renewed global interest has brought his art to recent exhibitions of Egyptian and international Surrealism, highlighting his pivotal role in both visual arts and critical discourse and demonstrating his lasting impact on modern art in Egypt and beyond.