PARIS.- The love story between Artcurial and Morocco continues with a simultaneous auction in Paris and Marrakech held on 29th December 2016. Paris#Marrakech will present 80 works over two chapters. The first will be dedicated to the third edition of ‘Majorelle and his contemporaries’ and the second focuses on International Contemporary and Modern art, mixing Western and Middle-Eastern works. A painting by the Moroccan pop art artist Mohamed Melehi dating back to 1971 is estimated at 40 000 - 50 000 € / 44 000 – 55 000 $ and a rare bronze by Mahmoud Mokhtar, the godfather of modern Egyptian sculpture, (estimation 200 000 - 300 000 € / 220 000 - 330 000 $), will be presented alongside works by Bernard Buffet, Raoul Dufy, Arman and César.

Artcurial is the leading auction house in the development of cultural events in Morocco and in 2011 organised the first edition of ‘Majorelle and his contemporaries’, followed by ‘Moroccan Spirit’ at the Villa des Arts de Casablanca in 2014. A more recent event was the sale of the Islamic art collection belonging to Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent which took place at the Palace Es Saadi de Marrakech in aid of the Fondation Jardin Majorelle.

“Culture is an important development lever for Morocco and Artcurial has accompanied this effort for several years. The Mohammed VI Modern and contemporary art museum in Rabat, which since its opening in 2014, presents the work of North African artists and retrospectives of Western artists such César, Giacometti and Picasso from April 2017, is an excellent example of how the public have opened up to the history of art. This auction is the result of 12 months research and a careful selection process amongst European and Middle-Eastern collections. It is the most important event of the kind to be held in Morocco over the past few years.” --Olivier Berman, Director Orientalism department, Artcurial

Majorelle and his contemporaries (III)
It is the right time to buy Majorelle and this third part of the sale dedicated to ‘Majorelle and his contemporaries’ proves this. The auction offers a complete panorama of works by Jacques Majorelle (1886-1962), the provenance of the works is prestigious and the prices are attractive. The eight works by Jacques Majorelle cover the period from the beginning of his exploration of the Cherifian Empire in the 1920s to his expeditions in black Africa. He returned several times up until 1952. Four works come from the collection which once belonged to Monsieur Renaud, the owner of the Hôtel Saada in Agadir. A stunning oil on canvas showing ‘Moroccan Dancers in Télouet’ comes from an important Madrid collection (estimation 200 000 - 300 000 € / 220 000 - 330 000 $).

Artcurial holds the auction world record for Edy Legrand (1892-1970) who lived in Morocco and three works will be presented at auction. One of these symbolises his most sought-after subjects, ‘Ahouache à Anemiter’ (estimation 100 000 - 150 000 € / 110 000 – 165 000 $).

R’Bati (1861-1939) is one of the rare Moroccan painters whose work reflects the Moroccan culture and way of life from his time. Subjects include interiors, religious ceremonies, architecture and scenes from the souks. R’bati’s talent covers the intricacies of the city of Tangiers and brings its narrow streets and inhabitants to life. This can be seen in the rare watercolour ‘La reception’ (estimation 30 000 - 40 000 € / 33 000 - 44 000 $).

An impressive oil on canvas by Raoul du Gardier (1871-1952) measures 3,50 metres in length and shows a street scene in Cairo. This is rare and rather surprising as the travelling artist was known for his small paintings which he could transport easily during his many trips. Here, we can depict the light and elegant atmosphere which evokes life during the period in between the two world wars (estimation 150 000 – 250 000 € / 165 000 – 280 00 0 $).

Finally, an auction dedicated to Majorelle and his contemporaries would be incomplete without a piece by Etienne Dinet (1861-1929), a French orientalist painter who was passionate about Algeria where he lived at the end of his life. He converted into Islam in 1913. ‘La lutte des fillettes’ comes from a prestigious Parisian collection (estimation 350 000 – 500 000 € / 385 000 – 550 000 $).

International and Arabic Contemporary and Modern Art
Morocco is the open door leading to Africa. This auction is the first to gather North African artists, African artists and Middle Eastern artists and present them alongside international artists including Bernard Buffet, Raoul Dufy, Arman and César. For the first time in Morocco, street-art works by artists such as Jonone and eL Seed who are inspired by ancient calligraphy, will be up for auction.

The most important piece is this rare 85cm bronze (estimation 200 000 - 300 000 € / 220 000 – 330 000 $) by Mahmoud Mokhtar, the god-father of modern Egyptian sculpture whose works have been gathered since 1962 at a museum in his honour in the El-Hourriya d’El-Guezirah garden in Cairo. He died at the early age of 43 and was the first to have broken away from academism and orientalism to invent art inspired by nation’s pharaoh heritage.

Closer to home, Mohamed Melehi was born in 1936 and was key in writing the history of contemporary painting in Morocco since its independence. Alongside Chebaâ, Hamidi and Belkahia, (whose works will also be on show) he is part of the first generation of contemporary Moroccan painters. In 1972, he took part in the Fondation de l’Association marocaine des arts plastiques (AMAP), and held the position of President between 1976 and 1982. In 1985 he was appointed arts director at the cultural Ministry and held this position until 1992. L’Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris organised a retrospective exhibition in 1995 and a piece from 1963 is on show at the Centre Pompidou. The historic piece from 1971 presented at auction is from a collection initially belonging to Mr and Mme de Mazières (estimation 40 000 - 50 000 € / 44 000 – 55 000 $).

Highlights from the section focussing on 20th century western artists include a piece from 1967, accumulation, by Arman and boasts not only an excellent provenance (Marisa del Re Gallery New York, Marc Blondeau SA Paris) but is also perfect dated.

The Iraqi visual artist, Dia Al-Azzawi is currently in the limelight as he has a retrospective exhibition at the Mathaf in Doha. He is one of the pioneers of modern Arab art and will be part of the auction. His works are part of prestigious collections around the world including the Mathaf in Doha, the Gulbekian collection in Barcelona, the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Tate Modern in London (estimation 30 000 - 40 000 € /33 000 – 44 000 $).

The auction will offer works by Moroccan artists such as Jilali Gharbaoui, Farid Belkahia, Ahmed Cherkaoui, Chaïbia Talal, Najia Mehadji, Abdellah Yacoubi, the Algerian painter, Abdallah Benanteur and Egyptian sculptor, Adam Henein.

The great Lebanese artist, Etel Adnan (born in 1925), whose current exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe is on show until 1st January 2017, will be represented at the auction with one of her rare leporello. A key figure of the feminist and peace movement, she created this oeuvre, a distinct accordion-folded booklet with illustrations and literary text.