Orientalist Painting Algeria 1938 By Miloud Boukerche (1908-1978)

Rare and unusual canvas by the North African painter Miloud Boukerche, one of the forerunners of Algerian painting. Born in Sidi-Bel-Abbès in 1908, Boukerche began his career as a designer in a textile workshop. He came to France to attend a sports competition, and it was during this stay that his artistic talents were noted. The young man is encouraged to enroll in an art school. Boukerche worked in Paris in film advertising in the 1930s before returning to Algeria, where, influenced by Delacroix and Etienne Dinet, his art became orientalist. After his first exhibition at the Franco-Islamic Circle of Algiers in 1947, Boukerche devoted himself to portraiture, in particular painting a portrait of King Mohamed V of Morocco. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from the 1930s, spending time in both Algeria and France. The painting presented here is a fascinating early work, which represents the artist's native Algeria with tenderness, but without romanticism. It is signed and dated 1938 lower right. Measuring 33.5 x 41cm, the framed dimensions are 39.5 x 47.5cm.