Untitled

This painting is one of the most extraordinary works by the great Syrian artist Fateh Moudarres. Coming from the collection of Adonis, the celebrated Syrian-Lebanese poet and a pioneer of modern Arabic literature, it was painted in his house in Beirut by Moudarres whilst the artist was staying with him in the dark days of the summer of 1967. Following the Arab defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The bitter disappointment this caused, and the palpable the feeling of loss inspired many Arab artists sought to express this in some way in their works. Indeed, most found it impossible not to do so.

When he painted it, Moudarres was still in the throes of shock immediately after the defeat and worked on whilst in a dark mood of deception, disillusionment and despair. As a result the overriding impression in this work is of containment, separation and fear. This powerful painting stands as a testimony to a pivotal time in Moudarres's career as an artist, as from then on we often see most often a certain dissatisfaction expressed in his works. In its lightest guise this takes the form of parody of certain official figures, but in its more sinister incarnations entire canvases are suffused with a muted sense of dread.