19 - ⊕ ANTOINE MALLIARAKIS (MAYO) (EGYPTIAN 1905-1990)

⊕ ANTOINE MALLIARAKIS (MAYO) (EGYPTIAN 1905-1990) UN SAUT DANS LA NUIT (A LEAP INTO THE NIGHT) signed Mayo lower right; signed and dated un saut dans la nuit / mayo / Rome 71 on the reverse oil on canvas 73.6 x 92.1cm (78.3 x 97.1cm framed) Property from a Private Collection, Dubai Provenance The Artist, Paris/Rome Acquired directly from the above by a private collection, Italy Sale, Sotheby's, London, 30 April 2019, lot 74 Sale, Sotheby's, London, 25 April 2023, Testimony of a Journey: The Al Zayani Collection, lot 59 Purchased at the above sale by the present owner Exhibited Paris, Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Mayo, 6 October - 3 November 1986 Athens, Titanium Gallery, (Title unknown), 1991 Paris, Galerie Alain Blondel, Mayo, 1992 Literature Venice, Evelyne Yeatman-Eiffel, Mayo, 2012, p. 263 (illustrated) Born in Port Said, Egypt, to a Greek father and a French mother, Antoine Malliarakis—universally known as Mayo, spent his life bridging cultures and artistic movements. He moved to Paris in 1923 to study architecture but was quickly drawn into the avant-garde circle of Montparnasse. There, he forged close ties with figures like Man Ray, Tristan Tzara, Francis Picabia, and Giorgio de Chirico. Though deeply connected to the Surrealists, Mayo fiercely guarded his independence, rejecting formal group labels in favour of a personal, expressive style that wove together dreamlike imagery, mythology, and poetic realism. Throughout his career, Mayo’s artistic footprint expanded across mediums and borders. He was affiliated with the anti-fascist Art et Liberté surrealist collective in Cairo and carved out a distinguished career in French cinema and theatre, famously designing costumes for Marcel Carné’s masterpiece Les Enfants du Paradis (1945). Moving to Rome in the 1960s, he entered a celebrated "Roman Period" marked by paintings of classical architecture and Mediterranean light. Even after losing his sight in his final years, Mayo remained an influential figure in European art until his death in 1990, leaving behind works that now hang in major institutions such as the Centre Pompidou and Mathaf.