HAMED NADA (EGYPTIAN 1924-1990)
Les Diaboliques
1982
signed and dated H. Nada 1982 (lower left)
gouache and watercolour on paper, framed
68 x 50 cm (26 3/4 x 19 3/4 in)

Hamed Nada was one of the first modern Egyptian artists born in the neighbourhood al-Khalifa in Cairo, Egypt. Having been raised in a religious environment, this was an early influence on him. However, his later influences of individualism and freedom of expression began to develop in secondary school under the teaching and guidance of painter and pedagogue Hussein Youssef Amin, who rejected the academic system in favour of a new method of art teaching that he bestowed upon his students.

The same stylistic freedom is evident within the presented work, 'Les Diaboliques'. Three subjects animate the lavish and colourful painting - two distorted human figures and a djinn. According to Muslim belief, the djinn is a spirit, mentioned in the Qur'an, which inhabits the earth in animal form and influences humankind. The painting reflects Nada's interest in human psychology and the subconscious and is recognisable as a prolific example of Egyptian Contemporary Art.