Marwan, The Veil, 1970-1971. © The artist. Marwan, The Veil, 1973. © The artist. to incorporate silky oranges, violets and emerald green, inspired by the mountains of his beloved Syria. The artist’s work from this period took on an enticing sense of rhythm exemplifed by his free brushstrokes of pure colour. Christie’s is delighted to ofer a seminal example from the artist that reveals Marwan’s artistic trajectory that developed from his Facial Landscapes of the 1960s to his most celebrated Head series, entitled The Veil accompanied by two comprehensive studies showing the inner workings of the Marwan’s artistic practice. Following his arrival in Paris, Marwan began a series of paintings entitled Veil Paintings in the early 1970s that suggest concealment and revelation that are as a result of his sense of foreignness when he arrived in Berlin and Paris. In not so much an identity crisis, but inability to become fully immersed in either German, Syrian or French identity in Marwan, GROSSER KOPF (NACH RECHTS) (Large Head (Turned Towards the Right)), 2013. (Christie’s Dubai, April 2013; price realised: US$171,750). © Christie’s Images Ltd. 2013 its entirety, this inner schism of the psyche is translated into his expressive and gestural paintings. Bedecked in a light veil, his protagonist, strangely but seductively androgynous, bathed in a soft layering of colours, simultaneously attracts and evades, calling for a dialogue that tackles the notions of concealment and revelation. In this sense it becomes clear that Marwan’s overcoming of foreignness is happiness in an unveiling and searching for truth. The veil becomes a metaphor for the barrier that protects his inner identity whilst referencing the veiled women of the Damascus bazaars. Much like these women, Marwan implies that once their true identity is revealed, all notions of perceptions are shed, the question remains what is real and not real; distance is now a veil concealing a mystery one now knows more. Almost always painting his self, these paintings are self-portraits in the sense that they are psychic profles of the artist - there is physically little facial resemblance - although each of his paintings look similar when viewed separately. It is not until they are looked at in quick succession of each other that one realises they are in fact diferent. They are, in turn, the artist’s ‘inner faces’ capturing his mental state at the time he chooses to transfer his emotions onto the canvas. This multiple personality is mirrored in the multidimensionality of his paintings, exemplifed by the viewer’s diferent experiences and interpretations of the reactions of his faces when viewed from one angle to the next - while simultaneously looking at this one painting, the viewer thus takes on this emotional journey through its shifts of distance and perspective. In the three example of Veil Paintings, Marwan incorporates a fowing brushwork and tender colouration, in which an extraordinary emotional language emerges, at once nuanced, but expressive, pulsating in the ability for these feshy tones to fow into each other into a consistency that can only reference his beloved landscape. To this end, the Veil series coalesce with his Landscape series to form the beginnings of the celebrated Head series, such as Large Head (Turned Towards the Right). Although these examples show a strong afiliation for the dark brown colour palette that the artist would use to frame his fgures and faces, the complexity behind this composition is exemplifed by the artist’s technique; he applies layer after layer with great patience and intensity - which acts metaphorically to highlight the multi-layered human psyche. Upon closer view, it becomes apparent that Marwan is starting to incorporate a more vibrant use of felds of colour that is to be exemplifed in The Veil from 1973. Here one realises that the veil becomes a symbol for shedding the veil of disillusionment, what emerges is a sense of renewal that is heighted with the use of shimmering radiant felds of colour. Through a delicate use of transparency in lightness of touch, Marwan imparts an ethereal quality to these works implying a sense of the spiritual that is instantly recognised. Not all of the works from this series started with this sense of fragility; much like the series the artist had developed in the 1960s The Veil shows an artist who is slowly coming to terms with his own identity and revelation of his unique style. His self-portrait which is much clearer and less androgynous than the present lot lacks a sense of transparency but much like his later examples from the series, a renewed person, confdent with their sense of self, emerges from beneath the shadows. With this in mind, we see a gentle smirk across the face in each of the compositions on ofer. It is as if the artist reveals a sense of confdence and joy in self-discovery. It is almost as if the fgure teases the viewer, enticing them to come closer and search deep into their soul whose eyes burn with desire with a gentility that is tender and endearing. In this context The Veil ofers an exemplary insight into the inner workings of Marwan’s mind and an instrumental comprehension of the development of the artist’s visual vocabulary tracing an exact evolution of style that is rare to fnd at auction and unparalleled in its clarity. 96
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DUBAI: MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART
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Original rendering of Al Aabour bef
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Mahmoud Saïd, Lever de soleil sur
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‘I see in you a talented artist w
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diplomat master Peter-Paul Rubens d
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*6 FATEH MOUDARRES (SYRIAN, 1922-19
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emain closed. Emerging with apparen
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A selection of books in which the p
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8 LOUAY KAYYALI (SYRIAN, 1934-1978)
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PROPERTY FROM THE ARTIST’S ESTATE
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Paul Guiragossian, La Famille, 1991
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Café de Verre, Café Hajj Daoud, C
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