Lot 22: AL HUSSEIN FAWZI (EGYPT, 1905-1999) The Fellaha Through Her Hardships o

AL HUSSEIN FAWZI (EGYPT, 1905-1999) The Fellaha Through Her Hardships oil on board, framed signed Al H. Fawzi in Arabic and English and dated 1943 (lower left), executed in 1943 99 x 118.5cm (39 x 46 5/8in).

Provenance: Property from the distinguished collection of Mrs Hoda Sabry, Cairo Note: The work is accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity from Cordoba Art Gallery Bonhams is delighted to be presenting this powerful and enigmatic piece by Al Hussein Fawzi depicting the dignified Nubian fellaha in her everyday plight. Here the fellaha or farmer lady is dressed in a traditional black veil known as an abayah, worn commonly by Nubian countrywomen in Upper Egypt. This monumental painting sheds light on the integral role the fellaha played in 20th century Egypt, particularly in the domain of agriculture and rural society. In this seminal work, the viewer is captivated by the artist’s approach towards his female protagonist. Fellaha Through Her Hardship unveils the noble suffering and hard work of the female farmers upon whose backs the glory and the survival of Egypt rested. The iconic symbol of the fellaha was one of the earliest acts of support male artists gave to the Egyptian feminist movement in their recognition and celebration of the fellaha’s contribution to society. This painting was executed in 1943, a year after the Egyptian feminist party was founded in 1942. Egyptian women highly valued personal adornment and it was worn by all social classes. In this artistically unique and striking depiction, the Nubian woman is seen adorned with black henna on her forehead and chin embroidery on her headpiece and around the collar of her abayah and bold native jewellery made from presumably copper which was affordable for the lower class. Despite her daily struggles, the artist focuses on elevating the status of the often-oppressed fellaha by enhancing her features and glorifying the position of the lower-class female agricultural worker. The fellaha in this landscape is surrounded by hundreds of branches and thorns attempting to block her path and prevent her from getting on with her duties. Despite being challenged the fellaha stands tall and up right as she carries the burden of transporting her harvest from place to place up and down the river. The Nile created fertile land in the desert allowing farmers to cultivate all manners of crops. The Nile and the fellaha are both prominent features of several great modern Egyptian paintings. Al Hussein Fawzi was born in Helmia district of Cairo in 1905. He was known across Egypt and the Middle East for his pioneering work in the field of journalistic graphic arts. In 1922, Fawzi began his artistic studies by studying Painting in the School of Fine Arts in Cairo. He obtained an art scholarship in 1928 to study Lithography at L’Ecole Estienne in Paris and graduated from there in 1932. In 1933, Fawzi received a degree from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. Fawzi was also awarded an honorary prize for an artwork that exhibited at the 1939 French Salon. Upon his return to Egypt in the 1940s, he founded and directed the department of graphic arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo. He produced numerous illustrations for books by the Egyptian writer and 1988 Nobel prize for Literature winner Naguib Mahfouz that were also published in Al Ahram newspaper and made drawings of all the big mosques of Egypt that were published. Al Hussein Fawzi painted one of the most renowned and beautiful paintings in the history of Egyptian modern art called El Dalalah. He also supervised the Fine Arts Studio in Luxor from 1954 to 1960. Fawzi was one of four Egyptian artists to have their work engraved on crystal by the Steuben glass factory in New York (others were Gamal El Seguini, Hamed Abdallah and Hussein Bicar). Fawzi was awarded the State Prize and Order of Sciences & Arts in 1963, and in the same year, won the Lithography Prize at the Alexandria Biennale. In 1989, he was awarded the State Prize of Merit.