01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Hocine Ziani's The Queen Tin Hinan, with Footnotes #212

Hocine Ziani  (1953–)

La Reine Tin Hinan/ The Queen Tin Hinan, c. 2009

Oil on canvas

National Museum of Fine Arts of Algier

Tin Hinan was a 4th-century Tuareg queen. Her monumental tomb is located in the Sahara, at Abalessa in the Hoggar region of Algeria.

Tin Hinan is sometimes referred to as "Queen of the Hoggar". The name literally means "woman of the tents", but may be metaphorically translated as "mother of us all".

According to the stories told in the region, Tin Hinan was a "fugitive princess" who lived some time in the fourth century AD. Driven from the northern parts of the Sahara, she and her caravan of followers nearly perished in the wilderness until they stumbled upon grain in desert anthills. In other legends less corroborated, Tin Hinan has been referred to as a Muslim of the Braber tribe of Berbers who came from Tafilalt oasis in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco accompanied by a maidservant named Takamat. In this legend, Tin Hinan had a daughter whose name is Kella, while Takamat had two daughters. These children are said to be the ancestors of the Tuareg of the Ahaggar. More on Queen Tin Hinan

Although born in Algeria in 1953, Hocine Ziani both lives and works in France. Ziani's childhood passion was drawing, which he did so frequently and anywhere he could. Nature, his village, the community around him, and his family were his favorite subjects and it was this creative tenacity that led him to develop his own style of painting, much in line with the Orientalist tradition. Ziani's work depicts the different shades of his native Algeria and all aspects of life in the Sahara.

The background of many of Ziani's paintings resemble the luminous, romantic dust of an on-coming mirage, heightening the drama of his otherwise simple scenes, as shown in the present work, Algerian hospitality. Here, Ziani illustrates a simple act of courtesy in a mysterious, barren landscape, beautifully rendering the jewel-toned robes of the riders on their white camels set against the dust of the desert. The result is a sobering and clean composition injected with the artist's distinct tonal range and talent for shadow and light. Whether executing huge battle scenes commissioned by the Algerian government or more domestic episodes of everyday Saharan life, Ziani's trademark has become a powerful eye for detail and drama proportionate to the genre he has distinguished.

Having actively worked in Algeria from 1978 to 1993, and now in France since 1994, Ziani has been awarded honors by the Academy of Arts in Paris, the Show of the Company of the French Artists in Paris, and the International exhibition in Vittel, among others, and his work has been acquired by numerous institutions and distinguished private collections such as the National Art Museum of Algeria, the History Museum in Buenos Aires, the National Assembly of Algeria, as well as the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia, Prince Rachid of Morocco and the Constitutional Council of Algeria. Ziani is also a founding member of the Central Army Museum in Algiers and a member of the International Fine Arts Academy in Quebec, Canada. More on Hocine Ziani

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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