Untitled (Blue nude)

Dating from the early 1950s around the time he completed his studies at the Sorbonne University in Paris in 1953, this blue nude by Samir Rafi is reminiscent of Western art influences namely of Henri Matisse’s oeuvre, hinting to his famous Nu (Souvenir de Biskra) dated 1907 at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Yet despite its thick blue contours, decorative background and traditional subject, Samir Rafi infuses the scene with a mysterious dreamlike atmosphere and depicted the nude in her sleep with a profound sensuality. The voluptuous body’s intentionally blurry blue outlines seem to lift the model from the couch into a metaphysical realm. Despite its figurative appearance, the composition is made of simplified bulky and curved shapes, expressive lines of thickly applied paint and a dramatic lighting that mark Rafi’s shift towards forging his own personal style. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) had pinned down Rafi’s unique talent of transforming the ordinary into the imaginary, stating that ‘there is Egyptian genuineness in this talented painter’ in a letter to fellow artist Gino Severini (1883-1966).