01 Work, The Art of War, Mahmoud Affifi's Tarek Ebn Zeyad , with footnotes

Mahmoud Affifi (1920 - 1984)

Tarek Ebn Zeyad, c. 1982

Oil on board

84.5 by 118.5 cm. 33¼ by 46¾ in.

Private collection

Estimated for  4,000 - 6,000 GBP  in October 2023

Tariq ibn Ziyad was an Ummayad general of Berber origin who made history in the late seventh, early eighth century. Most biographical records position him as a former slave who slowly gained favours before eventually leading the Ummayad army himself. His prominent role in the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula earned him enduring posterity in both the Arabic and Spanish collective imagination. Tariq is mainly known for having led a large army from the Moroccan Northern shore straight into the heart of Spain, to support the heirs of a Wisigoth king against their local rival during the civil war. His legendary journey left his name to the Strait of Gibraltar (from « djebel Tariq », ‘the Mountain of Tariq’) as well as many popular visual representations (Molina 2000).

This painting is characteristic of Afifi’s “Hard Edge” style, which earned him the nickname of the “Egyptian Rouault”. The strong, thick black lines infuse a strong vitality to the scene, depicting Tariq exhorting his troops moments before the invasion of Spain. Afifi (1920-1984) often used his signature technique to reclaim historic battles as a symbol of regional resistance (Almasar Gallery). Under his brush, the Egyptian spirit of revolution is immortalized, rising again after centuries during the agitated period that Afifi witnessed in Egypt during his lifetime. More on this work

Mahmoud Afifi (b. Alexandria, Egypt) graduated from the Faculty of Arts, 1940; thereafter in 1955 he obtained a diploma in Painting in Rome, Italy. Afifi was guided by the great mentor Hamed Said, who made him join his well known Art Assembly in 1946. Their mission was to go back to the origins and blend with nature. The uniqueness about Afifi’s work is the strong, solid and thick black lines he uses to define the figures, which is known as the “Hard Edge” style.

The legend George Rouault (1871 – 1951) used the same technique thus we call Afifi the “Egyptian Rouault”. Afifi added up about twenty years of experience by working at Al Ghoury Agency till he became the director of the handcrafts Divisions and directed the Society of Al Ghoury Artists after the death of its founder the late sculptor Abdel Hamid Hamdy.

The pulse pf life of the Egyptian people can be noticed in Afifi’s paintings such as romance, family, and recent historical wars. The political events in Egypt were particularly capturing their mind. Thus he went into a phase where he passionately started to symbolize the battles on his canvas where he daringly painted the Egyptian alliance against the enemy such as in the Salah El Din battle and the Rashid battle.

Another phase was sports which started after his participation in the Spain Biennale in the 1960s. The art of Afifi sometimes gives the illusion of joint glass windows while his expressional paintings are full of shape and distinct with grace and proficiency. More on Mahmoud Afifi

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