Lot 77: Untitled

Bahman Mohassess (Iranian, 1931-2010) Untitled signed and dated 'B. Mohassess 66' (lower left) oil on cardboard 26¾ x 18 7/8in. (68 x 48cm.) Painted in 1966

68 x 48cm.

Private Collection. Shirazi Art Gallery, Tehran. Acquired from the above by the present owner.

One of the most acclaimed and sought-after Iranian artists Bahman Mohassess, whose life intrigued many art critics and collectors, has left an indelible mark on Iranian Modern art history. Somehow a reclusive artist who mingled with only a few peers, Mohassess constantly fought his own demons through life, art and poetry. Known for his dreamlike compositions of semi-human, semi-abstracted figures, he was passionate about Antiquity with its concepts of fragments, waste, ruins, but he also explored the art of the Renaissance and reflected upon the themes of Eros and Pathos throughout his art and career. The present work, a rediscovered composition from 1966, depicts one of Mohassess' signature figures at the crossroads between reality and fiction. The surrealistic features of the figure are reminiscent of those seen in the metaphysical compositions of artists such as Giorgio de Chirico. In fact, Mohassess had settled in Italy following the coup against Mossadegh in 1953 and the Cultural Revolution that followed which had led to a wave of censorship in Tehran. Italy was his second home and Italian arts were his passion. A dedicated and passionate artist, writer, poet and a celebrated translator of literary works, Bahman Mohassess was a distressed artist who burned and destroyed a great number of his paintings, collages, drawings and sculptures, leaving behind only a handful of works. Other works created before the Revolution were intentionally destroyed by officials as they were said to be decadent and socially provocative. Trained as an apprentice in the atelier of Seyyed Mohammed Habib Mohammedi in Tehran, Mohassess enrolled at the Fine Art Academy in Tehran in the 1950s, but rarely attended classes, preferring to them the gatherings of the Cockfight art and culture society. A progressive artist at heart, he took part in the avant-garde trends of the Iranian art society early in his life, but his move to Italy changed the artist and his art eternally. In Rome, he attended classes at the Fine Art Academy then returned to Tehran temporarily, a time during which he was invited to participate to the Venice, Sao Paulo and Tehran Biennales and directed plays, including Pirandello's Henry IV at the Goethe Institute and Ghandriz Hall in Tehran. In 1968, Mohassess eventually returned to Rome. In the present work, the anatomy of the figure with her elongated neck, her deformed face and bust create a sense of disarray and dismay that are typical of Mohassess' style. The haunting figure set on planes of red and black hues exists like on a theatre stage and appears to be willing to express herself, yet the absence of a mouth forces her to remain silent. In that sense, despite her somehow hostile and menacing appearance, the female creature is utterly harmless and becomes a metaphor for the artist's suffering within his contemporary society, almost incapable to express himself in the society he lives in. The present composition is captivating and enigmatic; it recalls the Metaphysical art that Mohassess encountered during his time in Italy. Alike de Chirico and Carlo Carrà, Mohassess painted dreamlike compositions, with sharp contrasts of light and shadow that appeared vaguely threatening and evidently mysterious. The present figurative yet mythical composition is the apex of Mohassess' surrealist aesthetics in which he has delicately poured his vision of humanity and reflects on his constructed mythology. Undeniably a collector's piece, the present portrait painted in 1966 is one of the most captivating and rare works by the artist to ever appear at auction.