Louay Kayali: Painting Syria

Louay Kayali was born in Aleppo in 1934, and he had his first solo show at the age of only 18. His body of work is known for its portraits of people within the contexts of political and social change, as Syria transitioned to a modern and independent nation. More than a simple pictural representation, Kayali looked for the inner spirit of the Syrian people, to capture their essence and emotions.

After Syria’s independence from France in 1946, the modern art movement within the country developed towards a nationalist dynamic, especially when Egypt and Syria unified to become the United Arab Republic in 1958. Both Syrian and Egyptian artists freed themselves from the hegemony of European art academism to produce artworks relevant to the social realities of their countries.

Showing a mastery of drawing, Kayali particularly distinguished himself with a style through which he used simplistic lines and a distressed background to depict Syrians in their daily activities, as in the painting above. Coming either from the upper class, as seen in The Strange Lady Arlette Anhoury (1962), or the working class, his models were always treated equally in his representations.

In ‘Woman Reading’ (1960) (below), Kayali almost glorified an anonymous and humble woman as he shrouded her with a golden light. The painting is part of the earliest production of portraits in which he illustrated people reading.

Occupying the entirety of the canvas, a woman is resting comfortably on an orange cushion while she reads calmly. Here, he chose to paint an ordinary person in an intimate space, the blue house dress she is wearing a telltale sign of said privacy. Deeply engrossed in her reading, she is not striking a specific pose or formally dressed, as opposed to other notable members of Syrian society that Kayali portrayed in his other works of people. 

Even though ‘Woman Reading' is a realistic and common scene, Kayali added some fantasy to the composition. The model seems to be floating, and the proportions of her foot and hands are overexaggerated in a style reminiscent of Mexican muralism.

In 1960, in a significant feat for his career, Kayali took part in the 30th edition of the Venice Biennale, representing Syria alongside his counterpart and giant of the Syrian modern art movement, Fateh Moudarres.

By that time, Kayali had become a prominent figure in the development of modern art and the cultural scene of his home country. He left behind a rich painted oeuvre, encompassing varied themes, such as still-life paintings of flowers, different Syrian landscapes including the ancient Christian city of Maaloula, as well as more works featuring the people of Syria themselves.