5. Fahr El-Nissa Zeid (Turkey, 1900-1991) Sunrise, Ischia signed "Fahr El Nissa Zeid" lower left, stamped "NUMERO, Galleria d'Arte, Fiamma Vigo - Nino Bartoletti, Venezia" and labelled "Vigo Fiamma, Zeid" on reverse; exhibition label for Ischia from Galleria II Centro, Naples, on reverse oil on canvas 72 x 135cm (28 3/8 x 53 1/8in). Executed in 1961. (This work is framed). signed "Fahr El Nissa Zeid" lower left, stamped "NUMERO, Galleria d'Arte, Fiamma Vigo - Nino Bartoletti, Venezia" and labelled "Vigo Fiamma, Zeid" on the verso; further stamped with a Galleria Il Centro, Napoli, exhibition label for Ischia on the verso. oil on canvas Provenance Private collection, Rome. Exhibitions Galleria Il Centro Napoli, Ischia, circa 1961. Painted in 1961, this large abstract composition shows Fahr El Nissa Zeid's unique mastery of the art of fusing colour, emotion and form. The canvas is a whirlwind of vibrant colour, an explosion that immediately catches the eye. Representative of Zeid's abstract period, this work highlights his precise use of colour and form through a complex interplay of nuances and textures. Fahr El Nissa Zeid, an artist of great creativity and versatility, was one of the first women to attend the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts. She went on to study at the Académie Ranson in Paris under Roger Bissière. After her marriage to a member of Jordan's Hashemite royal family, she exhibited her work in numerous solo shows in London, Paris, New York and the Middle East, before settling in Amman in 1976 after the death of her husband, Prince Zeid. This work is an important abstract painting by Fahr El-Nissa Zeid dating from the early 1960s, considered to be the most accomplished period of her career. An artist with an extremely diverse repertoire, Fahrelnissa alternated between abstraction, expressionism, portraiture and landscape. His monumental abstractions are often seen as the purest synthesis of his work, combining Islamic geometric influences with abstract European representations. The French art critic Charles Estienne, with whom Fahrelnissa collaborated, wrote: "His paintings reveal the parade of strange nations migrating from one place to another; they reveal - in strange lights turning to crimson red - the blues of great windows, heavy as lead, enveloped in violent blacks. The light is reminiscent of Gothic stained glass. Let this thick, impenetrable wall of Oriental stained glass, which captures us in an unknown, transparent way, be a free, boundless line, transmitting the latest messages from Islamic art to French art...". Painted in 1961, this large and abstract composition stands as a testament to Fahr El Nissa Zeid's unparalleled ability to blend colour, emotion, and form. The canvas is a vibrant chaos of colours - a radiant explosion that arrests the eye. The painting is characterized by Zeid's abstract phase, and is a rare work where her masterful use of colour and shape through an intricate dance of hues and textures. Profusely creative and astoundingly versatile Fahr El Nissa Zeid was an artist par excellence. One of the first women to attend the Fine Arts Academy in Istanbul, Fahr El-Nissa went on train at the Academi Ranson in Paris under Roger Bissiere. After marrying into the Hashemite Royal family of Jordan Fahr El-Nissa participated in a spate of international solo exhibitions in London, Paris, and New York and the Middle East before settling in Amman in 1976, after the death of her husband Prince Zeid. The present work is a highly significant abstract painting by Fahr El-Nissa Zeid from the early 1960's, her paintings from this period is widely considered to be her most mature body of work. An artist with one of the most diverse repertoires in the Middle East, Fahrelnissa oscillated between abstraction, expressionism, portrait art and landscape painting. Her monumental abstracts are considered the purest synthesis of her work; an amalgam of Islamic geometric influences and European abstract modes of representation colour and shape Zeid's abstract works. The French writer and art critic, Charles Estienne, with whom Fahrelnissa collaborated several works, wrote: "Her paintings portray the parade of strange nations that migrate from one place to another; they expose -- in strange lights turning to crimson-reds, blues of huge glass cases, heavy as lead coils, enveloped in violent blacks. This light resembles the fabulous lights of Gothic stained glasses. Let this thick and impenetrable wall of Eastern stained glass, which grasps one in an unknown and transparent way, be a boundless and free line conveying the latest messages of Islamic arts to French art..." Profusely creative and astoundingly versatile Fahr El Nissa Zeid was an artist par excellence. One of the first women to attend the Fine Arts Academy in Istanbul, Fahr El-Nissa went on train at the Academi Ranson in Paris under Roger Bissiere. After marrying into the Hashemite Royal family of Jordan Fahr El-Nissa participated in a spate of international solo exhibitions in London, Paris, and New York and the Middle East before settling in Amman in 1976, after the death of her husband Prince Zeid.