Footnotes

Provenance:
Property from a private collection, London

Fateh Mouddarres was born in 1922 in Aleppo, Syria. The forerunner of the modern art movement in Syria, Moudarres began his artistic career in the 1960s. Between 1954 and 1960 he studied in Rome at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. It was during those years that Moudarres began developing his own distinctive expressionist style of painting. In 1969 he left Syria to pursue further training at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. After completing his studies, he returned to Syria and began teaching fine arts at the University of Damascus while being mentored by the Syrian artist Wahbi Al-Hariri.

This present painting was executed in the early 1970s during a period of political and social unrest sweeping the Arab world. Growing up, Fateh Moudarres spent much time in the countryside, but the agricultural crisis of the 1960s forced him and many others to relocate to major cities. Moudarres gives a mystical and nostalgic recreation of the picturesque mountain village of Maaloula. The magnificent and historic town is located 55 km northeast of the Syrian capital Damascus. This sacred village is one of the few places on the planet where Western Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ, is spoken by the local population. The village gets its name from the Aramaic word "ma'la" meaning entrance. It is also home to three important ancient monasteries. The whitewashed houses are beautifully formed, built into the rugged mountains and the camels on the dusty road take on a distance, as of memories, in soft-focus through his signature and indistinct lines. His use of soft colours, gold leaf and sand produces an engaging and timeless work all combing the rural palette of his beloved Syria.

Moudarres's oeuvre focuses on the rural environment and people's social conditions. Personal memories of the rural cityscapes are molded into this art and his unique style is strongly influenced by primitive and ancient Syrian arts and Christian iconography. He also capturing Syria's rich history, above all the survival of its culture through the many civilizations that have flourished across its diverse landscapes.