Yahia Turki (1902 Constantinople - 1969 Tunis)

Stroller in the city Oil on panel 33x24,4cm Signed lower right Born in 1903 in Istanbul, of a Turkish mother and a Djerbian father, Yahia Turki is described as the "father of Tunisian painting". A student at the Carnot high school in Tunis, he also attended the Koranic school where he first became interested in the arrangement of shapes and colors of writing tablets. Later, he undertook academic training at the Centre d'Enseignement d'Art, which in 1930 became the École des Beaux-Arts de Tunis. As early as 1923, he exhibited at the Tunisian Salon and obtained a scholarship that allowed him to travel to Paris in 1927. He became friends with Albert Marquet and Lucien Mainssieux. In 1928, he participated in the Colonial Exhibition of French Artists and the Salon des Indépendants. Back in Tunis in 1935, he exhibited a series of works on Parisian themes. In 1936, Tunisian, Belgian and Parisian paintings were presented in "Le Petit Matin", a daily newspaper of the time. From this date on, his personal exhibitions became annual. He also participated in the Colonial Society of French Artists and the Salon of Independents in France. He became, after Pierre Boucherle, President of the School of Tunis from 1956 until his death. French private collection Tajan, November 14, 2018, lot 165