Jilani ABDULWAHAB, dit Abdul (Salambô, 1890-1... Lot n° 19

Poppies, (19)60 Watercolor 21.5 x 13.5 cm on view. Signed and dated lower right. Dedicated to Madame L. Gardon lower left. *** Watercolour Signed and dated lower right. Dedicated to Madame L. Gardon lower left. Provenance : Private collection, France. Born in Salammbô to a well-to-do Tunisian family in 1889, Jilani Abdelwaheb (1889-1961), known as Abdul, wanted to become a painter. After studying at the prestigious Eton College in Brighton, just outside London, he arrived in Paris in 1911, where he frequented the studio of Jean Paul Laurens. Attracted by Fauvism and the modernity of Cézanne, Abdul Wahab found himself closely involved with the École de Paris movement. In 1912, Abdelwaheb Jilani was the first Tunisian to exhibit at the Salon Tunisien, which had opened in 1894 and welcomed the pioneers of Tunisian painting. In the 1920s, he also exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, the Salon des Tuileries and the Salon Tunisien. He frequented artists as diverse as Picasso and Ortiz de Zarate, Papazoff, Cingria and Pascin, and of course Modigliani, whom he had known since 1912 and of whom he was a faithful friend. The portrait of Abdul Wahab seated in front of a pedestal table was sketched by Modigliani in 1916. His works are extremely rare, the majority having been bequeathed by his wife Beppo to the Villa del Rio estate near Cordoba in Andalusia. *** Born in Salammbô to a well-to-do Tunisian family in 1889, Jilani Abdelwaheb (1889-1961), known as Abdul, wanted to become a painter. After studying at the prestigious Eton College in Brighton, near the outskirts of London, he arrived in Paris in 1911 and frequented the studio of Jean Paul Laurens. Attracted by Fauvism and the modernity of Cézanne, Abdul Wahab found himself closely involved with the École de Paris movement. In 1912, Abdelwaheb Jilani was the first Tunisian to exhibit his work at the Salon Tunisien, which had opened in 1894 and welcomed the pioneers of Tunisian painting. In the 1920s, he also exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, the Salon des Tuileries and the Salon Tunisien. He frequented artists as diverse as Picasso and Ortiz de Zarate, Papazoff, Cingria and Pascin, and of course Modigliani, whom he had known since 1912 and of whom he was a faithful friend. The portrait of Abdul Wahab seated in front of a pedestal table was sketched by Modigliani in 1916. His works are extremely rare, the majority having been bequeathed by his wife Beppo to Villa del Rio, near Cordoba in Andalusia.