Lot 336: Issam El-Said (Iraq, 1938-1988) Ayat al-Kursy

oil on canvas, mounted
122 x 122 cm.

Painted circa 1979.

Provenance:
Issam El-Said Foundation, London

Published:
Issam El-Said Foundation, Issam El-Said: Artist and Scholar, London, 1989, p.51, illustrated

'His [El-Said's] Islamic heritage he saw as "...an important link in the chain of Man's progress ... Its significant contributions in the fields of science have been recognised, but its achievements in the field of art and design have been greatly underestimated." As revealed by El-Said's work [Geometric Concepts in Islamic Art, written with Aysha Parman, World of Islam Festival, London, 1976] "...the Islamic tradition in sciences and arts has achieved a continuity of the common, human heritage. The adoption and application of a geometrical method as a unifying basis to diverse fields of self-expression..." is his legacy.' (Mushtak Parker, 'Issam El-Said, A Creative Genius', in Issam El-Said: Artist and Scholar, London, 1989, p.50).