Anna Shamira Minozzi (1968) Lot n° 6

Anna Shamira Minozzi (1968) Emir Abdel Khader, 2014 Acrylic, gold leaf and Swarovski crystals on canvas 39 x 49 cm Signature: "Shamira" on recto Provenance: the artist's studio; Veneto Banca SpA in LCA Exhibitions: International Book Fair, Algiers, 2017 Conservation status. Support: 95%. Conservation status. Surface: 95%. Anna Shamira Minozzi is an Italian artist inspired by Islamic calligraphy, on which she bases many of her compositions. She has exhibited, among others, at the Capitoline Museums in Rome, the Barbican Centre in London (Olimpyc Fine Arts 2012), the Beijing Museum of Art, Abu Dhabi on the occasion of Italy's six-month presidency at the Council of the European Union, the Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore in Milan, the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Castel dell'Ovo in Naples, and the Chamber of Deputies. His works are kept at mosques in Venice and Catania. Central to his interests is the dialogue between Christianity and Islam. The painting up for auction, presented at the International Book Fair in Algiers in 2017, was conceived by the artist as a tribute to Algeria through the figure of Emir Abdel Kader (1808-1883), a hero of national independence, thinker and scholar. Kader is also a prominent figure for dialogue between peoples: during his exile in Damascus, he saved the lives of 1,200 Christians in the city from attack by some Muslim extremists of the time. In the painting, Islamic and also Berber elements appear, such as the letters of the Tifinagh alphabet, the Tuareg script. The hand of Fatima - on the inside is calligraphed the phrase "God is beautiful and loves beauty" - is one of the symbols depicted in Algeria's coat of arms, while the Emir on horseback with a sword symbolizes religious power and justice. The half moon with star, which appears in the flag of Algeria, is composed with the phrase of the Shahada, the Islamic profession of faith. Some stylized gazelles with the phrase of the Bismillah ("In the name of Allah") are meant to recall rock inscriptions from prehistoric times found in southeastern Algeria. Several calligraphic scripts refer to Islamic art that developed in the country in Moorish and Ottoman styles. The Bismillah also draws the outlines of an Algerian city to emphasize the spirituality of this country: the butterfly indicates its beauty and delicacy, and the rose expresses its refinement and poetry. Other figures represented in the painting are the hawk, synonymous with pride, intelligence and a symbol of hunting, and the dromedary, considered in Arab tradition to be synonymous with sobriety, endurance, speed and adaptation to desert life. A steel plate copy of the painting at auction was donated to Abdel Kader's heir.