Les Musiciennes

Deftly and delicately created in the celebrated artist’s sweeping, signature strokes, this signed work features several of Guiragossian’s hallmark elongated figures, reminding us of his obsession with the human form. In this work, his subjects are in traditional dress, arms wrapped around each other, heads to the side, in a show of intimacy and affection. While the coupling of the protagonists is evident, the viewer is left in no doubt that this is a joyous occasion which is being universally shared and celebrated through music. We know that guitars or ouds – their unmistakeable shape beautifully crafted by the artist – are providing some of the entertainment, both from the title of this piece and the prominence they have in the work. Angled lines, created in the lower part of his subjects’ dress, also add rhythm and movement, indicative of dance. The work comes from a series completed by the painter in the mid-1980s focusing on the renaissance of the Armenian people after the genocide. Many, like this piece, had rebirth and reintegration as their theme, depicted through music and musicians. A prolific and renowned painter, Guiragossian’s paintings are marked by force, beauty and sentience. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, after obtaining a scholarship, and also spent time in Paris, before returning to Beirut. His work has been exhibited extensively and is featured in several highly prestigious public and private collections. Aside from illustrating books, he also made frescos, mosaics, stained glass windows and sculptures.

The authenticity of this work has been confirmd by the Paul Guiragossian Foundation, Beirut. We thank the Foundation for their assisstance.

A Certificate of Authenticity accompanies the work.