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Lot Essay
Ballet Dancer, painted by the highly acclaimed Egyptian painter Adham Wanly is fresh and poetic work that reflects the artist’s exquisite sensibility. Born in Alexandria Wanly is known for his mesmerizing visual depictions of the performing arts, namely the ballet and the opera. Drawing his influence from Impressionism, Wanly developed his own artistic technique that allowed him to capture movement through an elegant, poetic, yet dynamic allure, most notably seen in the repetitive live sketching he would create while attending ballets rehearsals, concerts and operas.
In Ballet Dancer, the artist demonstrates his phenomenal appreciation for beauty of the theatre. Wanly creates a magical scene in an endless spectrum of blues where two performers, with elegant and elongated bodies, float in the air in a state of utter grace. The composition of the painting, as well as the use of lights and shadows, is awe-inspiring. In accordance to his style, the artist uses heavy and quick brushstrokes which do not disturb the elegance of the scene, but rather, emphasize the movement of the dancers as well as their dream-like quality. Looking closely at the tulle of the female performer, one can fully grasp the beauty and ingenuity behind Wanly’s brushstrokes, quick and rough, but extremely captivating. In contrast with these long brushstrokes, the delicate facial features of the performers stand out, adding another layer of sophistication to the canvas. In this work, the artist demonstrates his mastery of oil painting which exceeds the realm of reality and constructs a fantastic and eerie world, conveying feelings and sensations, rather than just visuals.
Wanly was born to an aristocratic family and from a very young age was exposed to fine art and culture. It is impossible to talk about Adham Wanly without mentioning his brother, Saif Wanly – also an artist – with whom he shared a very close relationship. The two artists worked together from a very young age, starting off as students from Italian painter Arturo Zanieri (1870 - 1955) – who had also been a teacher to Mahmoud Saïd (1897 - 1964). The Wanly brothers travelled across Egypt and the globe learning, experiencing and exhibiting countless of works. They participated together in more than 17 exhibitions, notably in the Biennale of Venice, Alexandria, São Paolo. Despite major explorations within the art world, Adham Wanly remained faithful to his own world and the teachings of his mentor and tutor. He never lost fascination for what he did and continued to do so till the end, being fully expressive of what went on around him, and focusing on the world of folk and classical dance and theatre. After Wanly died in 1959 in Alexandria, the street next to his studio was named after him. Today, an entire floor of the Mahmoud Said Museum in Alexandria is dedicated to Adham and Seif Wanly, demonstrating the pivotal role of these two artists in the history of Modern Middle Eastern Art.
In Ballet Dancer, the artist demonstrates his phenomenal appreciation for beauty of the theatre. Wanly creates a magical scene in an endless spectrum of blues where two performers, with elegant and elongated bodies, float in the air in a state of utter grace. The composition of the painting, as well as the use of lights and shadows, is awe-inspiring. In accordance to his style, the artist uses heavy and quick brushstrokes which do not disturb the elegance of the scene, but rather, emphasize the movement of the dancers as well as their dream-like quality. Looking closely at the tulle of the female performer, one can fully grasp the beauty and ingenuity behind Wanly’s brushstrokes, quick and rough, but extremely captivating. In contrast with these long brushstrokes, the delicate facial features of the performers stand out, adding another layer of sophistication to the canvas. In this work, the artist demonstrates his mastery of oil painting which exceeds the realm of reality and constructs a fantastic and eerie world, conveying feelings and sensations, rather than just visuals.
Wanly was born to an aristocratic family and from a very young age was exposed to fine art and culture. It is impossible to talk about Adham Wanly without mentioning his brother, Saif Wanly – also an artist – with whom he shared a very close relationship. The two artists worked together from a very young age, starting off as students from Italian painter Arturo Zanieri (1870 - 1955) – who had also been a teacher to Mahmoud Saïd (1897 - 1964). The Wanly brothers travelled across Egypt and the globe learning, experiencing and exhibiting countless of works. They participated together in more than 17 exhibitions, notably in the Biennale of Venice, Alexandria, São Paolo. Despite major explorations within the art world, Adham Wanly remained faithful to his own world and the teachings of his mentor and tutor. He never lost fascination for what he did and continued to do so till the end, being fully expressive of what went on around him, and focusing on the world of folk and classical dance and theatre. After Wanly died in 1959 in Alexandria, the street next to his studio was named after him. Today, an entire floor of the Mahmoud Said Museum in Alexandria is dedicated to Adham and Seif Wanly, demonstrating the pivotal role of these two artists in the history of Modern Middle Eastern Art.