“I was born in a very modest place, therefore, I paint children, mothers, families, I paint misery, birth, death, and I paint the noise. I paint the tight-knotted groups that are lost, scarred, expelled, not knowing where is their next destination, I paint the neighborhoods which witnessed war, and hunger. Fear, genocide, siege, illness and death, from all of these ingredients I explode and I paint”. Paul Guiragossian, 1984 [1]
Therein lies the true genius of Paul Guiragossian’s (1926-1993) Abstract Expressionist style and the tenets of late 19th Century Symbolism in the masterfully created works of the late Armenian-Lebanese artist. A notoriously depressed artist, Guiragossian found comfort in the idea of the group. The shrouded, almost shadowy, ethereal and waiflike depiction of women in his paintings, The Bride (Undated), as well as Motherhood (1987), resonates the divine feminine aspect of the power that connects and binds the earth. The emotional impact of his female characters however is decidedly more subtle as the gentle feeling of dis-ease permeates the beauty of his works. It forces the viewer to delve for deeper meaning into the realms of what it means to be a woman in a sometimes repressive world and the cherished protection of the female collective against the lurking storms that life inevitably brings. This echoes the fiction of Chilean novelist Maria Luisa Bombal who tells stories of unfulfilling love relationships, marriage and its bitter constraints and restricted social roles. [2]
Both paintings remind of the disturbing works of Norwegian Expressionist and Symbolist artist, Edvard Munch (1863-1944) whose childhood and formative years were characterized by serious illness, the premature death of a number of close family members as well as a sister with severe, hereditary mental health challenges. His iconic painting The Scream (The Cry) (1893) is the symbol of modern spiritual anguish and timeless, pervasive angst where the flowing, tortuous line resonates violent psychological revelation. His intense, poignant artwork in somber colors and his rendering of the human figure in semi-abstract tonalities would lead the main revolt against the naturalistic dictates of 19th-century academic painting and pave the way for a new language of art that leans less on objective representation and more on raw emotion.
Paul Guiragossian’s childhood in Jerusalem too was filled with sadness and difficulties, and he experienced the consequences of exile from a very tender age. Raised in boarding schools, he and his brother grew up away from their mother who had to work to make sure her two sons received an education. His father was largely absent. [3]
It is not surprising then that women, and motherhood specifically, became one of his favorite subjects and obsessions transcending from his eternal longing for his mother to all worldly mothers. For Guiragossian the figure of the woman became the symbol of hope, of continuity and of freedom during his hardest days. These works are a homage to women and more specifically to the maternal figure and to motherhood. However, they often convey a watchful, wary joylessness.
This is particularly true in Motherhood (1987). The somber composition is dominated by Guiragossian's signature vertical lines, separating the shrouded figures crowding around the mother and baby with the slender lines of their bodies. He does this to possibly emphasize their individuality. As always, Guiragossian's painting is clearly structured and planned. The powerful brushstrokes create dynamism, overseen by dark, somber shades of blue with the baby in white glowing like a beacon of light and hope. [4] However, what should have been a joyful tableau filled with excitement for the future is instead a study of a vigilant, protective huddle with tones of sadness and fearfulness. A scene that could have taken place at a funeral. Perhaps the bitter memories of Guiragossian's son, Ara, who passed away soon after birth from an illness, permeated this work. [5] Guiragossian returned to the theme of motherhood tirelessly, a clear mark of his earnest humanity, sensitivity to his surroundings, and constant reflection of his own existential questioning.
The Bride (Undated), again depicts a mood very far removed from the typically festive Lebanese wedding punctuated by fireworks. Instead of the traditional white and gold the colors have been flavored with the aura of the desert – ochre, mustard, charcoal and deep green. Even the bride is draped in shades of yellow curdled cream. There are tinges of red seeping through around the four women symbolizing the whisper for love, fertility and prosperity, yet it is drowned out by the protective gloom of the two older shrouded women who have no illusions about the pitfalls of marriage.
In contrast to Motherhood (1987) though, Guiragossian’s The Bride (Undated) offers the viewer a glimmer of hope in a rather bleak landscape. The bride’s posture reminds of a Madonna figure, her face more visible as she gazes wistfully at the dark, secretive matriarchal figure by her side. The delicate, subtle lines detailing the bride and her companion suggest youthfulness and guarded anticipation if not quiet happiness.
There is also a clear influence of religious artistic traditions, which Guiragossian studied intensively, in both Motherhood (1987) and The Bride (Undated). The luminous effect coupled with the curvature of the lines with the fixed passages of color is almost akin to stained glass in European cathedrals. The composition itself, where the figures of the other women frame the central figure to form a protective mandorla, an almond-shaped aureola often used in religious iconography. [6]
As an expression of the personal and social conflicts that Paul Guiragossian encountered during his life, Motherhood (1987) and The Bride (Undated) represent his quest to find harmony in his artworks and his life. By utilizing intricate symbolism, he aims to find equilibrium between an expressionist style that reflects reality whilst engaging chromatic elements that convey emotional movement and a new perception of reality. The works show a deep precision in his brushstroke and composition, serving to highlight the theme of womanhood in all its facets – daughter, bride, mother and crone.
[1] K. Safieh, 'Entretien avec un artiste arabe, Paul Guiragossian', La vie de l'art plastique, no. 15, April-June 1984.
[2] María Luisa Bombal (born June 8, 1910, Viña del Mar, near Valparaiso, Chile—died May 6, 1980, Santiago) was a Chilean novelist and short-story writer whose innovative stories feature heroines who create fantasy worlds to escape from unfulfilling love relationships and restricted social roles. Her surreal narrative style influenced many later proponents of magic realism. Her most famous novel is House of Mist published in1948.
[3] Sam Bordauil and Till Fellrath, Paul Guiragossian: The Human Condition (Paul Guiragossian Foundation, 2013).
[5] Sam Bordauil and Till Fellrath, Paul Guiragossian: The Human Condition (Paul Guiragossian Foundation, 2013).
[6] N. Salamé Abillama & M. Tomb, Art from Lebanon - Modern and Contemporary Artists 1880-1975, Vol. I (Beirut, 2012), p. 169.
A. Al Awit, "These are Our Readers" (translated from Arabic), An-Nahar, no. 1099 (20 April 2013), unpaged.
