Mohamed Saleh Zaki (1888-1973)
Title:
Altın Köy, the Village of Gold
Medium:
Oil on Board
Date of creation:
1918
Artwork Commentary:

It’s from the artist's collection and is one of the oldest paintings in our collection. The artist painted this artwork in 1918 in Turkey and named it “Altın Köy,” which stands for “The Village of Gold,” as he titled it behind the painting. It is a village located in the Asian part of Turkey near Ankara.

Title:
From Istanbul
Medium:
Oil on Board
Date of creation:
1918
Artwork Commentary:

It’s from the artist's collection and is one of the oldest paintings we have in our art collection. The artist painted this artwork in 1918 in Turkey and called it “From Istanbul,” as he titled it behind the painting. The artist painted it at the age of about thirty years in Istanbul while studying at the Military Academy there.

Title:
Scene from Southern Iraq
Medium:
Oil on Carton
Date of creation:
1950
Artwork Commentary:

“In the crowd of these memories, two generous faces appear upon us, the remaining image of a forgotten past of our old artists, in a Baghdad house with ‘shanashil’ (mashrabiyya) overlooking the Tigris in Al-Adhamiyah. In the middle of it is an open yard with a small garden, where the painter and retired Colonel Mohamed Saleh Zaki lives in this house, which he preferred over others. The artist continued his work with love and determination and painted his memories of the battles he recorded in which he fought in the plains and mountains of Iraq and the days of his youth spent on horseback riding from northern Iraq to its south. It is an interesting study of the Iraqi atmosphere, with its sultry beauty, darkness, and serenity. You can find scenes of palm trees in nature and sunset over the long, flat southern plains”. - Nouri Al-Rawi

Title:
Bouquet of Flowers
Medium:
Oil on Board
Date of creation:
1966
Artwork Commentary:

“One of his old students recorded their impression of him in an article he published in a local newspaper on the occasion of his exhibition in 1956. He stated, "He was not limited to one type of painting, meaning only on paper. He may use glass, alabaster, and canvas to produce oil paintings and others”. - Shakir Hassan Al-Said The artist painted this artwork at the age of 78 years.