Gouache

6 figure abstract painting done with gouache on newspaper. The work is signed and dated by the artist. It is framed in a silver frame with a blue matte.

Born in 1913 to an Armenian family in New Julfa, Isfahan, Iran, Sumbat is the most celebrated watercolorist of this ancient capital city - the center of Iranian arts and crafts. He was influenced by both western and eastern artistic styles, and by Armenian and Iranian traditions. Sumbat's paintings describe scenes around his hometown and the ordinary life of people living in the surrounding villages and towns. They possess a lyrical quality, an extraordinary harmony of colors, and a striking honesty of expression. During his 65 years of artistic career, he produced thousands of watercolor, gouache and oil paintings, which are now scattered throughout the world in private collections and museums. He lived in Iran until 1980, then moved to the United States where he died in 1999. In addition to Iran and the United States, he traveled and painted in Armenia, England, France, Italy, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. When painting in gouache, Sumbat usually used sheets of newspaper at his side to test colors. One day he noticed that the random mix of colors on the newspaper was suggestive of human figures. With a few brush strokes, the paint-covered newspaper came to life showing a crowd in a traditional Iranian bazaar with the printed letters showing through the patches of paint. The style is reminiscent of Fauvist art, particularly that of Henri Matisse. Sumbat never intended to follow a particular style or school, but his own instincts. In time, this style of painting became his signature. The style is popularly known as Sumbatism.

H 16.5 in. x W 21.25 in. x D 1 in.