JELLAL BEN ABDALLAH (1921-2017)
Painter of Tunisian memory — between miniature and modernity
In 1938, Jellal Ben Abdallah resolutely chose painting as his artistic language and vocation. Inspired by his village of Sidi Bou Saïd, he began by painting miniatures in the Oriental tradition, before frequenting the artists of the School of Tunis and drawing particular inspiration from Amor Ghraïri and Aly Ben Salem. His work Le Martyr, created after the events of April 1938, marked his engaged beginnings.
Shortly after, the successive loss of his grandmother and his parents led him to settle permanently in Sidi Bou Saïd. In 1943, he exhibited his first large miniatures at Mme Attias's. Briefly enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts de Tunis — for only three weeks — he nevertheless won the First Prize for painting, securing a grant for a three-month stay in Paris. There, he attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the artists of Montparnasse, then joined Moses Levy in Rome, visiting Venice and Florence.
In 1938, Jellal Ben Abdallah resolutely chose painting as his artistic language and vocation. Inspired by his village of Sidi Bou Saïd, he began by painting miniatures in the Oriental tradition, before frequenting the artists of the School of Tunis and drawing particular inspiration from Amor Ghraïri and Aly Ben Salem. His work Le Martyr, created after the events of April 1938, marked his engaged beginnings.
Shortly after, the successive loss of his grandmother and his parents led him to settle permanently in Sidi Bou Saïd. In 1943, he exhibited his first large miniatures at Mme Attias's. Briefly enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts de Tunis — for only three weeks — he nevertheless won the First Prize for painting, securing a grant for a three-month stay in Paris. There, he attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the artists of Montparnasse, then joined Moses Levy in Rome, visiting Venice and Florence.
In 1951, he received his first major public commission: two frescoes for the girls' high school in Sousse. The Tunisian State then commissioned a work from him for the Maison de Tunisie in Paris, where he moved for two years, taking over the large studio of Auguste Matisse. The Champion-Cordier gallery handled the international distribution of his works, notably in Luxembourg, Spain, Egypt, and the United States.
In 1957, he became the decorator of the Théâtre municipal de Tunis, a position he held for thirteen years. His union with Latifa Bach Hamba, who became his muse, marked a fertile period. His last major exhibition, in 1997, presented fifty miniatures at the Galerie Ammar Farhat. Subsequently, he exhibited more rarely, preferring to sell directly from his studio.
His pictorial universe draws from genre scenes — traditional crafts, moments of daily life, still lifes — as well as the representation of female figures evolving in richly decorated interiors. His style, tending towards simplification, is characterized by a fine and hieratic drawing, delicate colors, and a sensibility that mixes fidelity to roots and openness to modernity.
In 1957, he became the decorator of the Théâtre municipal de Tunis, a position he held for thirteen years. His union with Latifa Bach Hamba, who became his muse, marked a fertile period. His last major exhibition, in 1997, presented fifty miniatures at the Galerie Ammar Farhat. Subsequently, he exhibited more rarely, preferring to sell directly from his studio.
His pictorial universe draws from genre scenes — traditional crafts, moments of daily life, still lifes — as well as the representation of female figures evolving in richly decorated interiors. His style, tending towards simplification, is characterized by a fine and hieratic drawing, delicate colors, and a sensibility that mixes fidelity to roots and openness to modernity.
Exhibitions
