M'hamed ISSIAKHEM Algerian (1928-1985) The Palestinian... Lot 6

M'hamed ISSIAKHEM [Algerian] (1928-1985) The Palestinian Woman, 1983 Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. 92 x 73 cm Provenance : Acquired directly from the artist by Benamar Médiène. Exhibitions : - Maison des Syndicats, Moscow, 1989. - M'Hamed Issiakhem, Kateb Yacine et Khadda, Année de l'Algérie en France, Unesco, Paris, January 31 - February 27, 2003. - M'hamed Issiakhem, Musée public national d'art moderne et contemporain, Algiers, December 1, 2010 - January 31, 2011. Bibliography : - Benamar Médiène, Issiakhem, Algiers, Éditions Casbah, 2006, reproduced p. 44. - M'Hamed Issiakhem, Musée public national d'art moderne et contemporain, Algiers, Éditions MAMA, FIAC, 2010, reproduced pp. 190-191. The Palestinian woman is not painted in the heroic or romantic mode. She is a common woman with a stern face, determined to resist. She holds a weapon without displaying it or threatening. She stands upright in a dismembered and chaotic territory. Issiakhem paints the Palestinian woman and Palestine. This work also expresses the painter's personal drama and the tragedy of Algeria.