SYRIAN LANDSCAPE (MAALOULA)
signed in English and Arabic moudarres lower right
oil on board
16 x 20cm; 6 1/4 x 8in
37 x 41cm; 14 1/2 x 16in (framed)

Property of a Private Collector, London

Provenance
Acquired from the artist
Hadba Nizar Kabbani
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Fateh Moudarres is considered a pivotal artist of Syria’s modern and surrealist movements. Born in Aleppo, Moudarres studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris until 1972. He began to incorporate abstraction into his painting while he was in Europe, blending the traditions of Syrian art with Western techniques. Upon returning to Syria, where he was a lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University until 1993, he became a highly influential professor for generations of artists.

Reflecting the changing social and political environments of the time, Moudarres’ work took certain issues – such as the Syrian agricultural crisis or the civil war in Lebanon – and sought to depict the sorrow and the problems of the people. He painted sober figures with his characteristic solid square-shaped heads reminiscent of styles from Assyrian statuary, Palmyrene figures and Christian iconography. In much of his work, warm earthy colours are prevalent with thick textural brushstrokes and the occasional incorporation of sand into the paint.

Moudarres' work has been included in international exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennale, São Paulo Biennale, New York International Art Fair, Contemporary Arab Art Exhibition in Paris, and the Seoul and Cairo Biennials.