Housed by Elmarsa Gallery, the Reviewing Landscape group show brings together such prominent classical, modern, and contemporary artists as Pierre Boucherle, Ammar Farhat, Jellal Ben Abdallah, Alexis Delahogue, Antoine “Mayo” Malliarakis, Atef Maatallah, Baya Mahieddine, Cécile Bougourd, Yahia Turki, Hedi Turki, Zoubeir Turki, and Moses Levy. On view are their art pieces delving into the landscape. The exhibition will run through 15 January 2024.
The evolution of landscape painting transitioned from classic landscapes of the 17th-18th centuries to the recognition of historic landscapes by European art Academies in the late 18th century. North Africa became a pivotal destination for artists at the turn of the 19th century, shaping the discourse within the landscape painting community. The narrative of landscape painting evolved further in the early 20th century with the emergence of groups like the Groupe des Dix and the Aouchem group.
About the artists
Pierre Boucherle (b. 1894, France/Tunisia — 1988) was an Orientalist artist; most of his paintings were landscapes and still lifes. In 1936, he founded the Groupe des Quatre (The Group of Four), an art group which became the Groupe des Dix (The Group of Ten) in 1947. In 1948, Boucherle was one the founders of the École de Tunis art movement; it aimed to gather Tunisian artists (regardless of their religious, racial, or artistic background) with the common interest of establishing a Tunisian painting style.
Ammar Farhat (1911 — 1987) is considered one of the most influential Tunisian painters; he co-founded the École de Tunis in 1948. In his work, Farhat focused on the daily life of Tunisian workers and artisans. Passionate about music, he also painted musicians, which included renowned Egyptian singer Abd El-Hay Hilmi, and dancing scenes.
Artist and illustrator Jellal Ben Abdallah (b. 1921, Tunisia — 2017) was associated with the École de Tunis. His art practice encompasses miniature painting and monument design; the mediums he used included gouache and acrylic on wood and paper. Although for a while, the artist was fascinated with the Italian Renaissance and primitives, his initial inspiration was the Tunisian pop culture. Most of Ben Abdallah’s delicate paintings depict daily life and female figures. He also painted surrealist imagery and ethereal seascapes.
Alexis Delahogue (1867 – 1936) was a French artist who painted with his twin brother Eugene and travelled with him across Algeria. Both members of the Société des Peintres Orientalistes and the Société des Artistes Algériens et Orientalistes, they painted landscapes and scenes of Algerian life.
Antoine “Mayo” Malliarakis (b. 1905, Port Said, Egypt — 1990) was an artist, illustrator, and theatre designer. He encountered some prominent figures from the Surrealist movement such as André Breton (a French poet and writer) and Man Ray (an American painter and photographer) but refused to join it and imposed a personal style. In his practice, Mayo combined inspirations and aesthetics from realism, surrealism, and poetry.
Artist Atef Maatallah (b. 1981, Al Fahs, Tunisia), who resides in Tunis, graduated from the Institut Supérieur des Beaux-Arts of Tunis and studied at the Cite des Arts de Paris. Exploring the realm of narrative figuration, the artist portrays commonplace scenes and characters. His artworks (paintings and drawings) evoke the fragile lives of those he meets in his everyday life. Maatallah’s subjects are accompanied by objects alluding to the precariousness of their societal circumstances.
Baya Mahieddine (b. 1931, Algeria – 1998) was an Algerian artist whose practice involved painting and pottery and who did not self-identify as belonging to a particular art genre. However, critics describe her paintings as surrealist, primitive, naïve, and modern. Being self-taught, the artist’s work was inspired by her personal experiences. To create her vibrant art pieces, she employed colours and motifs drawn from Kabyle arts; the recurring themes in her creations were gardens, ceramics, and traditional textiles with intricate designs.
Cécile Bougourd (b. 1857, Pont-Audemer, France – 1941) was a French painter and the daughter of artist Auguste Bougourd, who taught her art. She also was among the members of the Société des Peintres Orientalistes, like her father. At first, the artist focused on floral themes in her practice, but later she turned to painting landscapes, which included urban landscapes and scenes of souks and markets.
Artist Yahia Turki (b. 1903, Turkey/Tunisia — 1969) is considered the “father of Tunisian painting”; in 1956, he became the president of the École de Tunis. Turki was interested in the open-air painting through which he represented genre scenes or landscapes. Employing a bright colour palette, the artist portrayed the mundane life of Tunisian inhabitants, camel drivers, or views over the medina and its public markets.
Hedi Turki (b. 1922, Tunis, Tunisia – 2019) was a painter and sculptor who is considered a pioneer of abstract art in his homeland. His early art pieces were figurative. After studying art in France and Italy, he pursued his education at Columbia University (USA), where he discovered abstract art. The artist’s painting style became more abstract; he worked on colour fields and lines which looked like grids. Turki’s art was filled with a deep sense of Tunisia and marked by a somewhat religious aspect.
Painter and sculptor Zoubeir Turki (b. 1924, Turkey/Tunisia — 2009) was the younger brother of Hedi Turki. Drawing inspiration from Tunisian culture and traditions, Zoubeir painted interiors, characters, and scenes of everyday Tunis.
Painter and engraver Moses Levy (b. 1885, Tunis — 1968) was friends with Pierre Boucherle, Tunisian artist Jules Lellouche, and Italian painter Antonio Corpora, who would become his partners in 1948, during the creation of the École de Tunis. He is famous for the paintings he created while living in Viareggio (Italy): these are landscapes including the city’s beach (one of the key themes found in his artworks).
To get more information about Reviewing Landscape, please visit the exhibition’s official web page.
You might also be interested in attending Distilled Lessons: Abstraction in Arab Modernism at Mathaf.
