I would like to review ‘Construction of the Suez Canal’ by Abdul Hadi El-Gazzar.  It was acquired for $1.02m through Christie’s Dubai.  A new auction record for the artist.

Today my interest is in discussing this artwork, its historical reverberation and artistic value.

Quite some time ago I remember reading a specific story about a group of ancient Egyptian workers at Deir el Medina under Ramses III in the 12th Century BCE.

It intrigued me greatly.  The workers threw down their tools in protest due to a woeful lack of rations and peacefully complained to their Chief of Police.  Their complaint duly noted and directly quoted from an unedited English translation reads:

“The prospect of hunger and thirst has driven us to this; there is no clothing, there is no , there is no fish, there are no vegetables. Send to Pharaoh, our good lord, about it, and send to the vizier, our superior, that we may be supplied with provisions.”

Looking at El-Gazzar’s painting, shown above, we see the struggle of hard work.  An overseeing. Order. Logical procession. Monotony. Tented dwellings, perhaps for the workers.  A complex scene with varying angles and perspectives for the artist to deal with artistically and consider.

Sesostris, the Persian King Darius I, Ptoemy II and Napoleon Bonaparte have all been linked in historicity with the Suez Canal and the ancient waterways interconnecting the Red Sea and Mediterranean.

A flowing of water that spans some 4,000 years between these men respectively.

I cannot help wondering if El-Gazzar inadvertently placed himself in his own painting.  Overseeing.

Did you know that Rembrandt evolved and refined his art signature?  Will I use the same initialled signature my art teacher from school remarked upon favourably or will an artist grow and light upon a recognisable identity in good time.  My apologies, I digress momentarily.  Thoughts are sometimes like the dancing of butterflies.

Some painters are positively narcissistic, and it speaks much of their personal boldness and extrovert nature.  I feel El-Gazzar is somewhat subtle in his commentary within this painting.  Although he is exquisitely bold in most of his other artworks.

Construction of the Suez Canal is honest, warm and empathic.  An historical masterpiece.  El-Gazzar is a highly skilful painter, an artisan from ancient generations, happily gaining modern inspiration from Dali and Picasso with masterful creativity in his own right.

– Matt, The Unfathomable Artist