Seated Woman

Lebanese artist Paul Guiragossian's Seated Woman (1957) is a work from the early years of his career, after embarking on an inspiration journey in Italy. The artwork already shows a style identified as being between abstraction and figurative painting. Applying thick brush strokes, and warm colours, the painter depicted a seated woman with her feet on a stool and reduced her facial features to simple lines. Huddled on the chair with her hands joined, she seems to be praying or in contemplation. The woman is surrounded by some other figures that Guiragossian liked to shape elongated and in different sizes. The scene is highly tinged in a sense of spirituality and the characters look like icons, recalling the Eastern Orthodox religious arts and aesthetics. Nuns, priests, and prayers were a significant part of Guiragossian’s personal life as he grew up in Christian establishments. He would refer to the style of traditional religious arts to illustrate his life experiences, such as exile, land loss, hope and family ties.