Samir Rafi (Egyptian, 1926-2004)

In his more figurative works, such as this present lot painted in 1958, Samir Rafi still employs his technique of using bold lines and color plains. This composition depicts a woman dressed in pink with a hand resting on her head and the other resting on a man’s chest. The man, laying next to the woman is dressed in blue, and even his exposed skin is painted in a blue hue, which leads us to believe that he is sick and the woman next to him is a family member awaiting his recovery. Placed against a relatively bleak background created with dark and gloomy colors, the figures highly represent what Rafi’s oeuvre is about. Deeply imbedded in figurative surrealism, Samir Rafi never fails to surprise the audience with his captivating colors and lack of perspective.