Born in Mecca in 1939, Abdulhalim Radwi is widely regarded as one of the founding figures of Saudi modernism, whose multifaceted practice was shaped by a profound engagement with regional heritage and the evolving aesthetic currents of the twentieth century. A prolific sculptor, curator, and poet, Radwi was among the earliest artists from the Kingdom to pursue formal training abroad. His studies at the Academy of Replica Handbags s in Rome between 1961 and 1968 proved formative: exposed to the intellectual and artistic currents of post-war Europe, his early realist approach gradually shifted toward a more abstract and expressive idiom. Yet even as his visual language evolved, Radwi remained deeply rooted in the traditions, rituals, and landscapes of his homeland, forging a distinctly Arab modernist vocabulary that set him apart from his contemporaries.

Upon returning to Saudi Arabia in the late 1960s, Radwi began teaching, a role that solidified his position within the nascent Saudi art scene and allowed him to cultivate the next generation of artists, including figures such as Taha Al Sabban and, later, Ahmed Mater. This pedagogical influence, combined with his commitment to artistic exchange, underscore his centrality to the cultural developments taking place in the Kingdom during this period.

Untitled (Hajj Arafah), is a vibrant example of Radwi’s practice of the late 1960s, depicting a bustling arrangement of tented structures rendered in his characteristic Cubist-inflected idiom. Here, the tightly interlocking forms and rhythmic repetitions resurrect the landscape of the sacred Mount Arafah during Hajj, distilled into a kaleidoscopic composition that celebrates the textures and visual poetry of Mecca. The angular brushwork, faceted planes, and expressive outlines reveal Radwi’s oeuvre at a moment of full artistic maturity, seamlessly merging local vernacular subject matter with the modernist language he cultivated during his years in Europe and Spain.

The 1970s marked a particularly dynamic chapter in Radwi’s career; splitting his t.mes between Saudi Arabia and Spain, he served as Action Director of the Association for Arab Artists in Madrid and completed his further studies at the Royal Arts Academy in 1979, later assuming a professorship that he held until 1984. The paintings from this period reveal Radwi at his most vibrant; jubilant, kaleidoscopic compositions that celebrate the architectural forms, bustling streets, and folkloric traditions of Jeddah, whilst drawing simultaneously upon the sun-drenched colours and textural richness of the Spanish landscape. Through Cubist structuring, expressive brushwork, and inventive material combinations, including sand, Radwi articulated a visual narrative that intertwined cultural heritage and modernist experimentation.

Over the course of his fruitful career, Radwi produced works spanning painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, and monumental public installations. He held prominent positions within Saudi Arabia’s cultural institutions, including his tenure as director of Jeddah’s Centre for Replica Handbags s, and exhibited widely throughout the Middle East and Europe, earning Third Prize at the Ibiza Biennale in 1968.

The significance of the present work is further emphasized by its provenance, hailing from the distinguished collects ion of Alberto Mestas García, the Ambassador of Spain to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah from 6 October 1966 to 21 May 1976, and his wife Mercedes Suárez de Tangil Guzmán. Both Alberto and Mercedes became profoundly fond of Saudi Arabia, and befriended many of the artists whom they met during their t.mes there, as well as accompanying the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, when he visited the Kingdom as a Prince in 1974. Untitled (Hajj Arafah) shares its esteemed provenance with Safeya Binzagr’s Coffee Shop in Madina Road.