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Lot 29^*

Paul Guiragossian
(Lebanon, 1926-1993)
Les Mariées Femmes en Blanc

Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art

26 April 2017, 15:00 BST

London, New Bond Street

Sold for £25,000 inc. premium

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Paul Guiragossian (Lebanon, 1926-1993)

Les Mariées Femmes en Blanc
oil on canvas, framed
signed "Paul", dated "1968" (lower right) and titled "Les Mariées Femmes en Blanc", inscribed "Near East School of Theology" on the verso, executed in 1968
75 x 50cm (29 1/2 x 19 11/16in).

Footnotes

Provenance:
Property from a private collection, Los Angeles

Exhibited:
Beirut, Near East School of Theology, circa 1968

One of the most talented and progressive artists to emerge from Lebanon, Paul Guiragossian is remembered as a pioneering figure of Middle Eastern Modernism. Paul Guiragossian was born in 1926 in Jerusalem to survivors of the Armenian genocide. He experienced the consequences of exile from a very young age. Guiragossian's family settled in Beirut, Lebanon in 1947. In 1956, Guiragossian received a scholarship from the Italian Government to study at The Academy of Fine Arts Florence, which was soon followed by a further scholarship from the French government to attend Les Ateliers des Maîtres de l'Ecole de Paris. This led to his recognition both locally and internationally.

Les Femmes Mariées en Blanc is stunning in its rendition. This rare work reflects a reality both deeply, personal and universally relatable. The proximity of the three faceless figures to one another suggests the coming together in unity to celebrate this monumental moment in a woman's life, her wedding ceremony. In most of his paintings, Guiragossian conveys a sense of solidarity, a collective joy or at times suffering. The colourful palette infuses a feeling of warmth, positivity and hope. The present painting is exemplary of Guiragossian's gestural and expressive painting style as luminous clothed figures are defined by thick elongated brushstrokes of impasto paint. The female figure is visible throughout Guiragossian's oeuvre; the mother being the caretaker plays an extremely influential role and a key subject matter in his paintings.

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- Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art