[MIDDLE EAST] Original artwork in mix technique on paper: Mary and Jesus

CEMAL NADIR [GÜLER], (1902-1947), N. D.

Original artwork in watercolor, Indian ink, and dry paint. 11,5x9,5 cm.

This rare original artwork of Mary and Jesus comes along an exceptional provenance of Turkish cartoonist Semih Balcioglu (1928-2006), with his handwritten note on verso "Cemal Nadir'in bir kompozisyonudur" [i.e. It's composed by Cemal Nadir]. Signed on right lower as "C. N". Unpublished work.

Cemal Nadir was a Turkish cartoonist. He was born in Bursa, Ottoman Empire on 13 July 1902. His father Sevket was a calligrapher (Turkish: Hattat) employed in courts. After finishing high school, he began working as a sign painter in Bursa. He also created cartoons, and his first cartoon appeared in Diken (literally: "The Thorn") periodical. Although he moved to İstanbul and tried to be a full-time cartoonist, he could not make it and he returned to Bursa. The Alphabet reform of 1929 gave Cemal Nadir a second chance to show his talent. When Turkey adopted the Latin alphabet replacing the Ottoman Turkish alphabet in Arabic script, all sign boards were necessarily changed, and he worked hard to meet the demand. The same year, he moved once more to Istanbul to work for the daily Aksam. Later, he also drew for the newspaper Son Posta, as well as for satirical magazines such as Akbaba. He also contributed to Yedigün. During this period, he published the satirical magazine Amcabey. During World War II, he drew anti-Nazism cartoons in the daily Cumhuriyet. In 1946, Republican People's Party (CHP) invited him to run for a seat in the parliament. However, he refused the invitation, he said that with political affiliation he would not be able to create cartoons.