1 / 3

Description

M'hamed ISSIAKHEM (Taboudoucht 1928 - Alger 1985)

Couple Oil on panel 128 x 41.5 cm Signed lower left Issiakhem Provenance : French private collection, donated by the artist in June 1974. We thank the artist's family for confirming the work's authenticity. This vertical work depicts a hieratic couple in a narrow space where the woman, the backbone of the work, stands back and above the man. A delicate balance of forces is established in this composition of muted tones, where the red of the headdresses - the only touch of color - binds the two figures together, as does the clarity that strikes their faces. Here, the artist paints the powerful, intimate bonds of two united souls, a veritable allegory of father and mother, of the Algerian man and woman, and reveals the ability of a couple / a people to stand together, even in suffering. This work resonates deeply with the artist's personal life. *** Oil on panel Signed lower left Provenance: French private collection, gift from the artist, in June 1974. We would like to thank the artist's family for confirming the authenticity of the work. *** This vertical work depicts a hieratic couple in a narrow space where the woman, the backbone of the work, stands back and above the man. A delicate balance of forces is established in this composition of muted tones, where the red of the headdresses - the only touch of colour - binds the two figures together, as does the clarity of their faces. Anissa Bouayed writes: "The painter M'hamed Issiakhem worked all his life to unearth the soul of his people, to reveal their profound truth through the faces and textures that surround them. He fought relentlessly against snobbery in art, against this "entre soi" busy with long chats about works supposedly too complex to be understood by the people" in M'hamed Issiakhem, Tribute exhibition from 1 December 2010 to 31 January 2011, Fiac 2010. Here, the artist paints the powerful and intimate bonds of two united souls, a veritable allegory of father and mother, of the Algerian man and woman, and reveals the ability of a couple / a people to stand together, even in the midst of suffering. This work resonates deeply with the artist's personal life. "The painter M'hamed Issiakhem worked all his life to unearth the soul of his people, revealing its profound truth through the faces and textures that surround them. He fought relentlessly against snobbery in art, against that "entre soi" occupied with long chatter around works supposedly too complex to be understood by the people." Anissa Bouayed in M'hamed Issiakhem, Exhibition tribute from December 1 2010 to January 31 2011, Fiac 2010. M'hamed Issiakhem was born on June 17, 1928 in Greater Kabylia, into a family of relatively well-off shopkeepers, where he enjoyed a happy, fulfilled childhood, despite an early uprooting from his native land and his mother that marked his work. This serenity was shattered in 1943, when M'hamed Issiakhem seized a grenade from an American depot, undoubtedly encouraged by his fellow scouts, for whom he was the designated volunteer. He took the grenade, supposedly unplugged and harmless, to the family home and handled it, surrounded by his family and friends. The weapon exploded, killing two of his younger sisters and his nephew, and injuring three other family members. M'hamed emerged alive, but seriously wounded and with one phalanx of his left arm amputated from his index finger. This tragic event had a considerable impact on the man and his work, and marked the beginning of the second episode of separation from his mother. Crushed by an ever-increasing sense of guilt as he recovers and realizes the desolation left by the explosion, he must face the gaze of a grieving mother, a father mourning the loss of his ambitions for his eldest son, and the heavy, sympathetic gazes of those around him. He tried to find his place, but failed, and eventually left home to take a train to Algiers in 1947. He was eighteen at the time, and so it was in Algiers and among relatives that his adult life began. Anxious to prove to himself and his family that he was not reducible to his handicap and that he could support himself financially, he decided to exploit his gift for drawing, a gift that a nurse had helped to reveal during his hospitalization by providing him with sheets of paper and pencils. He enrolled in the Fine Arts Society. Quickly noticed for his abilities, he joined the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Algiers, where he won first prizes in illumination, ceramics and engraving; second prizes in ronde-bosse, academy, painting (académie dessinée and académie peint), modelling and drawing.

Automatically translated by DeepL. The original version is the only legally valid version.
To see the original version, click here.

24 
Go to lot
<
>

M'hamed ISSIAKHEM (Taboudoucht 1928 - Alger 1985)

Estimate 25 000 - 30 000 EUR

* Not including buyer’s premium.
Please read the conditions of sale for more information.

Sale fees: 33 %
Leave bid
Register

For sale on Friday 28 Jun : 15:00 (CEST)
paris, France
Millon
+33147279534

Exhibition of lots
mercredi 26 juin - 10:00/18:00, null
jeudi 27 juin - 10:00/18:00, null
vendredi 28 juin - 10:00/13:00, null
Browse the catalogue Sales terms Sale info

Delivery to
Change delivery address
Delivery is not mandatory.
You may use the carrier of your choice.
The indicated price does not include the price of the lot or the auction house's fees.