Details
MARWAN (1934, DAMASCUS - 2016, BERLIN)
Head
signed and dated ‘MARWAN 73’ (upper right); signed and dated again ‘MARWAN 73’ (lower right); signed, inscribed and dated twice 'MARWAN PARIS 1973' (on the stretcher bars)
oil on canvas
63 7⁄8 x 45in. (162.2 x 114.2cm.)
Painted in 1973
Provenance
The Artist.
Private Collection, Amman.
Private Collection, Amman.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Exhibited
New York, Gruenebaum Gallery, Marwan, 1976, pl. no. 5 (illustrated, p. 9).
Amman, Darat al-Funun, Marwan: A Retrospective, 1996.

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Marie-Claire Thijsen
Marie-Claire Thijsen Head of Sale, Associate Specialist

Lot Essay

“When we perceive the face, we can say we comprehend everything”
-Adonis on Marwan

Painted in 1973, Head, is a masterpiece from Marwan’s iconic Kopf (Head) series, the leading theme of Marwan’s oeuvre. Akin to other works this series, the present work transcends conventional portraiture boundaries. Whilst at once being specific and anonymous, it serves as a metaphysical gateway to universal facets of the human condition - loneliness, introspection, and existential contemplation. As an immigrant himself, moving from Damascus to Berlin in the late 1950s, the artist drew inspiration from his own experiences as an outsider navigating life in a foreign European land. He investigated the human form, specifically the human head, capturing the distinctive expressions of individuals on their quest for belonging and wholeness amidst unfamiliar terrain. Blurring the line between abstraction and figuration and embracing large format canvasses, Marwan crafted compositions that were intimate, close-up, and subtly distorted. Adorned with thick layers of oil paint and expressive brushstrokes, Head reveals Marwan’s approach of carefully building his portraits, layering them with ribbons of colour to physically and psychologically to excavate and express the complexities of the subject’s soul.

Born in Damascus in 1934, Marwan moved to Germany in 1957 where he began studying painting at the Hochschule der Bildende Künste in Berlin under the supervision of the German artist Hann Trier. Immersed in Western art movements of his era, Marwan found inspiration in German Informel, American Abstract Expressionism, and French Tachisme. This marked a significant departure from his earlier style, reminiscent of French Impressionism, highlighting his growing commitment to the boundless manipulation of colour and form. Within the post-war German art scene, Marwan forged close bonds with fellow Berlin-based artists like Georg Baselitz with whom he shared a studio and Eugen Schönebeck. These relationships played a pivotal role in his contribution to the emergence of German Neo-Expressionism. Marwan’s work is part of important institutions worldwide, such as the Guggenheim, Abu Dhabi; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Tate Modern, London; The British Museum, London and Barjeel Foundation, Sharjah.

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