YOUSSEF KAMEL (EGYPTIAN, 1890-1971) Untitled (Fellaha) signed and dated in
Provenance : PROVENANCE: General Amin Shaker Collection, Zamalek. Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2007. Christie’s is proud to present Fellaha, an exceptionally unique work by one of the key pioneers of Egyptian modern art, Youssef Kamel. The name of the work derives from the Arabic word to mean peasant woman. Works by the artist rarely come to auction and such a unique piece that focuses on one of Kamel’s key themes, the Egyptian peasant woman, as an exceptional example of the artist’s unique impressionist-like technique, presents a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire an iconic work by the artist. Considered one of the groundbreaking artists of modern Egyptian art, Kamel was one of the frst students to enroll in Egypt’s frst art school, the School of Fine Arts, which was founded in 1908. Graduating in 1911, his cohorts included the painter Ragheb Ayad and the sculptor Mahmoud Mokhtar. Ayad and Kamel taught art at local high schools after graduating. The desire to pursue further studies would compel the young artists to set their sights on Europe, and create a scheme to support one another in their studies abroad. Having been tutored at art school by the Italian painter Paolo Forcella, Kamel would forever be infuenced in his European renditions of Egypt not only due to his tutor, but due to his further studies which were undertaken in Italy a few years later. Initially, Kamel had arranged with his former classmate Ayad that he would fnancially support him with his income from teaching while Ayad was undertaking studies in Rome, only to reverse the fnancial duties on Ayad upon the completion of his studies so that Kamel may in turn pursue his own studies and receive fnancial support. The Egyptian parliament enacted a scholarship scheme for students to study art soon after, thereby allowing Kamel and others to easily pursue further training. He graduated with a diploma in painting from the Fine Arts Academy in Rome in 1929, returning to Cairo to teach painting as a professor at the School of Fine Arts. Undoubtedly, Kamel appropriated the Aesthetic of Italian Renaissance painting and impressionism to his Egyptian subjects and Fellaha is refective of a consolidation of many artistic infuences. The painting shows a young woman crossing a bridge while carrying a bag on her head as she also delicately balances a water urn in her right art. The dificult and heavy task is made to look seemingly easy. She walks barefoot, yet carefully, using her outstretched left arm to help her balance the items she carries. Painted wearing a black dress with long sleeves, the traditional black melaya rests on her head. The melaya was used by rural women to wrap their shoulders and heads with in a loose manner to protect themselves from the elements of heat, wind or dust while walking alone to gather water outside their homes. Yet, the clothing item has other connotations. The melaya was worn by women over their housedress. Kamel paints the fellaha’s clothes as something more elegant than a simple loose housedress– it appears more tailored and ftted, the material clings to the curves of her hips, emphasising her healthy physique and long legs made lean from walking. In painting the woman’s housedress in this manner that references a higher social class, Kamel thus elevates her appearance so as to elevate her social status. In carefully painting her attire, he equates her with an aristocratic woman, but simultaneously celebrates the very woman that she is by emphasising her very Egyptian-ness in dress and rural context. He thus venerates her as the essence of Egyptian beauty. Her left foot is visible under her black dress and it is quite apparent that Kamel spent much attention, applying much-honed skill, to depict her foot not only correct anatomically, but beautiful as if it was the delicate and soft foot of a noble woman not used to walking barefoot on dirt paths in the countryside as a fellaha would. Although the viewer’s eye rests immediately on the fgure of the fellaha, the details of foliage in the background and foreground, which seemingly half frames the fgure, is equally breath-taking. The sparse inclusion of leaves on the right side of the canvas helps to pull the foreground and background together. The billowing clouds in the sky is in perfect harmony with the placid stillness of the water running underneath the bridge which she crosses, exemplifying a sense of harmony in the overall composition. Enamoured with his subject, it is clear that Kamel was devoted to producing a substantial artwork that captured not only his skill, but perhaps the theme he loved most of all: EgyptThe artist posing with the present work. © Al-Ahram Archives, Cairo. .
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