ALY BEN SALEM (1910-2001)

Pioneer painter — between Tunisian tradition and openness to the world

An eminent member of the generation of pioneers of Tunisian painting, Aly Ben Salem studied at Lycée Carnot before joining, in the 1930s, the École des Beaux-Arts of Tunis — at a time when very few Tunisians attended this institution. A student of the painter Armand Vergeaud, he distinguished himself early on by his attachment to the traditions of his country, which he expressed in meticulous canvases, close to miniature art in the precision of the figures and objects depicted.

In 1934, he organized his first solo exhibition at the Rotonde du Colisée in Tunis. Two years later, he won the First Prize in Painting from the Tunisian Government as well as the First Prize in Miniature of North Africa. This recognition opened the doors to a trip to Paris, where he discovered the great schools of painting and enriched his study of European masters.

In 1937, he was appointed official decorator of the Tunisian Government for the Paris International Exhibition. He also collaborated with the Musée de l’Homme in the department dedicated to White Africa. That same year, he exhibited at the Galerie de l’Union Latine, Quai des Grands-Augustins, before presenting his work in 1939 in Stockholm at the Institut français and the Museum of Ethnography.

Through his work, Aly Ben Salem was able to combine the decorative finesse inherited from traditional Tunisian arts with a curious openness to international artistic movements, thus affirming a pictorial identity that is both rooted and universal.