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Lot Essay
Christie's is honoured to have been entrusted with an exquisite and rare painting by Egyptian pioneer artist Mahmoud Saïd. Bergère à Alamein was originally in the private collection of Dr. Tharawat Okasha, the Egyptian Minister of Culture from 1959 to 1964 active during the last years of Mahmoud Saïd's life. A full-time judge at the Mixed Courts in Alexandria until he retired from his legal functions in 1947, it is estimated that Saïd produced approximately 400 paintings. His most sought after works, which depict the essence of Egyptian cultural heritage and of Egyptian peasant life, are held in private or public collections.
Bergère à Alamein is indeed one of Mahmoud Saïd's iconic works as it is quintessentially Egyptian through its colours, compositional elements, setting and historical references. Combining some of his favourite motifs with a typical seaside landscape of the Northern Egyptian coast, Saïd presents one of the many facets of his homeland's national character in this painting.
The title refers to the Mediterranean town of El-Alamein in the Matrouh Governorate in Egypt, located half-way West between Saïd's native town, Alexandria and the seaport Marsa Matrouh. El-Alamein is well known for the two successive battles of the Western Desert Campaign that took place during the Second World War. The fight was between the Axis Forces (Germany and Italy), led by Erwin Rommel, and the British Imperial Allied Forces. It started with a first battle in July 1942, followed by a second one in October-November 1942, resulting in the definite expulsion of the Axis forces from Egypt. El-Alamein was hence a historical landmark at the turning point of the Second World War, as Winston Churchill famously claimed at the end of the war that 'before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat', so it comes with no surprise that several war memorials were erected in this town. Furthermore, the desert climate of El-Alamein, tempered by the Mediterranean winds, also made it a very popular beach resort destination for the Cairenes and Alexandrians who fled the suffocating summer heat to this serene place, characterised by its soft white sand and crystal clear calm waters. During the Greco-Roman era, El-Alamein was known as 'Locassis' meaning the 'white shell', as a reference to its beautiful white beaches, which Mahmoud Saïd faithfully depicts in the present masterpiece Bergère à Alamein.
A testament of the traditional Bedouin way of life, Mahmoud Saïd's painting pays tribute to this coastal town that was remained almost intact. With its breathtaking seascape, the artist glorifies its true Egyptian character, which survived through several occupations over the past centuries, sometimes under its purest form. The 'bergère' or 'shepherdess' embodies one of Saïd's recurring subjects, that of the Egyptian 'fellaha' or 'peasant'. The painter appears to pay homage to the shepherdess, by placing her on the donkey's back, on top of the hill, proudly dominating the entire scenery. Wearing a fiery red dress and draped in a deep blue cloak, she almost appears like a noble woman. Her majestic pose and her stoic profile echo Renaissance portraits of high-rank sitters and simultaneously resonate the princely figures from the Egyptian frescoes decorating Tutankhamun's tomb. By giving his 'bergère' these social and historical connotations, Saïd seeks to capture the essence of true Egyptian female beauty, as he did in his numerous paintings of 'fellahas'.
The donkey, another of Saïd's signature motifs, further emphasises this traditional Egyptian character, having long been one of the most common beasts of burden in Egypt and which are still frequently used to pull carts in some villages. Donkeys also represent humility and innocence as depicted throughout Medieval Christian art in which Jesus mounts a donkey, as well as retaining their symbolic value as faithful companions to human beings and active witnesses of people's daily lives throughout the centuries.
Painted in 1959, Bergère à Alamein is actually one of only three or four known paintings executed by Mahmoud Saïd that year and it is arguably the most outstanding in achieving what the artist sought for through his art. In some ways and particularly in terms of subject matter, it can be considered as the sister-piece of the 1959 Marsa Matrouh - Vers le Bain de Cléopâtre work, sold by Christie's Dubai in April 2012. The Egyptian master embraces the essence of the national Egyptian identity through his extraordinarily glowing palette in both works and overall, the landscape seems to bathe in an almost transcendent and mystical light, which is very much at the core of Saïd's oeuvre.
'What I am looking for is radiance rather than light. What I want is internal light, not surface light, that blazing and deep light of some of the Limoges enamel work that can be found in the Cluny museum, or in the stain-glass windows of Chartres cathedral; or the one in Barcelona. Surface light pleases for a minute or an hour while internal light captivates slowly, but once it appears, it imprisons us, it possesses us.'
(M.Saïd quoted in his letter to Pierre Beppi-Martin, San Stefano, Ramleh, Alexandria, 16 December 1927; translated from French).
Bergère à Alamein succeeds in capturing Saïd's internal light and the softer colours used by the artist not only enhance the stillness of the scene, as if frozen in time, but they also bring a lyrical touch to this magnificent landscape, further enhanced by the perfectly balanced triangular composition, hinting to the indestructible pyramids, symbols of the glorious Golden Age of Egyptian civilisation. As seen in previous works, Saïd strives to immortalise the authentic Egyptian beauty of his people and of his homeland by putting a halt to the passing of time in his paintings.
Through its unparalleled serenity and luminosity, Bergère à Alamein successfully epitomises Mahmoud Saïd's achievement in depicting the transcendent light that he strived to grasp in his paintings and that remains the thread running through his entire oeuvre. Bergère à Alamein further represents the artist's tribute to Egypt's land, people and history. The Alexandrian master proves in this glowing masterpiece that the true Egyptian character and inner Egyptian beauty, that has resisted centuries of foreign domination, is eternal.
Bergère à Alamein is indeed one of Mahmoud Saïd's iconic works as it is quintessentially Egyptian through its colours, compositional elements, setting and historical references. Combining some of his favourite motifs with a typical seaside landscape of the Northern Egyptian coast, Saïd presents one of the many facets of his homeland's national character in this painting.
The title refers to the Mediterranean town of El-Alamein in the Matrouh Governorate in Egypt, located half-way West between Saïd's native town, Alexandria and the seaport Marsa Matrouh. El-Alamein is well known for the two successive battles of the Western Desert Campaign that took place during the Second World War. The fight was between the Axis Forces (Germany and Italy), led by Erwin Rommel, and the British Imperial Allied Forces. It started with a first battle in July 1942, followed by a second one in October-November 1942, resulting in the definite expulsion of the Axis forces from Egypt. El-Alamein was hence a historical landmark at the turning point of the Second World War, as Winston Churchill famously claimed at the end of the war that 'before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat', so it comes with no surprise that several war memorials were erected in this town. Furthermore, the desert climate of El-Alamein, tempered by the Mediterranean winds, also made it a very popular beach resort destination for the Cairenes and Alexandrians who fled the suffocating summer heat to this serene place, characterised by its soft white sand and crystal clear calm waters. During the Greco-Roman era, El-Alamein was known as 'Locassis' meaning the 'white shell', as a reference to its beautiful white beaches, which Mahmoud Saïd faithfully depicts in the present masterpiece Bergère à Alamein.
A testament of the traditional Bedouin way of life, Mahmoud Saïd's painting pays tribute to this coastal town that was remained almost intact. With its breathtaking seascape, the artist glorifies its true Egyptian character, which survived through several occupations over the past centuries, sometimes under its purest form. The 'bergère' or 'shepherdess' embodies one of Saïd's recurring subjects, that of the Egyptian 'fellaha' or 'peasant'. The painter appears to pay homage to the shepherdess, by placing her on the donkey's back, on top of the hill, proudly dominating the entire scenery. Wearing a fiery red dress and draped in a deep blue cloak, she almost appears like a noble woman. Her majestic pose and her stoic profile echo Renaissance portraits of high-rank sitters and simultaneously resonate the princely figures from the Egyptian frescoes decorating Tutankhamun's tomb. By giving his 'bergère' these social and historical connotations, Saïd seeks to capture the essence of true Egyptian female beauty, as he did in his numerous paintings of 'fellahas'.
The donkey, another of Saïd's signature motifs, further emphasises this traditional Egyptian character, having long been one of the most common beasts of burden in Egypt and which are still frequently used to pull carts in some villages. Donkeys also represent humility and innocence as depicted throughout Medieval Christian art in which Jesus mounts a donkey, as well as retaining their symbolic value as faithful companions to human beings and active witnesses of people's daily lives throughout the centuries.
Painted in 1959, Bergère à Alamein is actually one of only three or four known paintings executed by Mahmoud Saïd that year and it is arguably the most outstanding in achieving what the artist sought for through his art. In some ways and particularly in terms of subject matter, it can be considered as the sister-piece of the 1959 Marsa Matrouh - Vers le Bain de Cléopâtre work, sold by Christie's Dubai in April 2012. The Egyptian master embraces the essence of the national Egyptian identity through his extraordinarily glowing palette in both works and overall, the landscape seems to bathe in an almost transcendent and mystical light, which is very much at the core of Saïd's oeuvre.
'What I am looking for is radiance rather than light. What I want is internal light, not surface light, that blazing and deep light of some of the Limoges enamel work that can be found in the Cluny museum, or in the stain-glass windows of Chartres cathedral; or the one in Barcelona. Surface light pleases for a minute or an hour while internal light captivates slowly, but once it appears, it imprisons us, it possesses us.'
(M.Saïd quoted in his letter to Pierre Beppi-Martin, San Stefano, Ramleh, Alexandria, 16 December 1927; translated from French).
Bergère à Alamein succeeds in capturing Saïd's internal light and the softer colours used by the artist not only enhance the stillness of the scene, as if frozen in time, but they also bring a lyrical touch to this magnificent landscape, further enhanced by the perfectly balanced triangular composition, hinting to the indestructible pyramids, symbols of the glorious Golden Age of Egyptian civilisation. As seen in previous works, Saïd strives to immortalise the authentic Egyptian beauty of his people and of his homeland by putting a halt to the passing of time in his paintings.
Through its unparalleled serenity and luminosity, Bergère à Alamein successfully epitomises Mahmoud Saïd's achievement in depicting the transcendent light that he strived to grasp in his paintings and that remains the thread running through his entire oeuvre. Bergère à Alamein further represents the artist's tribute to Egypt's land, people and history. The Alexandrian master proves in this glowing masterpiece that the true Egyptian character and inner Egyptian beauty, that has resisted centuries of foreign domination, is eternal.