Louay Kayyali (Syrian, 1934-1978)

After completing his first portrait of the young lady Miss Anhoury, Louay Kayyali offered to paint a more complete work depicting her full figure in order to shed light on her striking beauty. Kayyali had previously attended the Arabic adaption of Bernard Shaw's The Man of Destiny, in which Miss Anhoury played a key role and wore a red dress, as depicted in the present work. When Miss Arlette accepted to pose for the artist a second time, she was asked to wear the same dress which the artist found powerful, playful and aesthetically suggestive. He also asked her to hold the whip in her hands, as seen in the painting.

Louay Kayyali would greet the young Miss Anhoury with her mother in his rented apartment and atelier in the upper Muhajereen area (referred to as Shora district today), where he lived with his two sisters. After about a dozen visits to the artist's atelier, the painting was finally completed and revealed the meticulous and skillfull work of the artist. Miss Anhoury, a talented ballerina, amateur actress and athlete was not a quiet poser, she moved constantly and along with the artist, they often took breaks to discuss ideas, arts and theatre.

As she moved constantly, Kayyali depicted her as a floating figure or a 'Knight-Ballerina' as he would
call her, standing on the tip of her shoe. Her powerful gaze is mesmerizing as if following the viewer
as he moves. Through the use of a fresh light blue colour and the depiction of the young girl within a
large composition, the work stands as unique and exceptional. The blue later became Kayyali's signature, yet the gold and the detailed accessories on her dress are rarely found throughout Kayyali's oeuvre. The entire set up that led to the final painting, from the first encounter with the sitter, the inspiration from the theatre role, the infatuation with this young spirit to the true friendship that bonded the artist and his muse make the present lot one of the finest works by Kayyali to ever be sold at auction.