Portrait of El-Hajj Malik Sy with Umbrella

1940s–1960s

Not on view

This portrait is one of a series of suwer (or souwere, Wolof for reverse glass paintings) that carry variations of the same depiction, directly inspired by a ca. 1910 photograph of El-Hajj Malik Sy, caliph of the Tijaniya Sufi brotherhood between 1902 and 1922. At a time when photography was not yet, in Senegal, the preferred medium for popular images, glass paintings disseminated this and other portraits of Sufi religious leaders, while creating a new and original visual language. The additions, slippages, and variations seen within this group, speak of the artists’ ingenuity in creating not just mere reproductions but "new originals": comparing this suwer with the 1910 photograph, the mirrored portrait reveals the duplication technique employed to create the image, while the addition of a mosque in the background adds to the religious message that this devotional object could convey.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Portrait of El-Hajj Malik Sy with Umbrella
Date: 1940s–1960s
Geography: Made in Senegal
Medium: Paint on glass
Dimensions: H. 19 7/8 in. (50.5 cm)
W. 16 1/8 in. (41 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, 2025
Object Number: 2025.481
Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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Portrait of Ahmad al-Tijani, Paint on glass — Portrait of Ahmad al-Tijani
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Portrait of a Marabout on a Blue Background, Paint on glass — Portrait of a Marabout on a Blue Background
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Portrait of Mandione Laye and his Phaeton, Paint on glass — Portrait of Mandione Laye and his Phaeton
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Two Reverse Glass Paintings: Abdallah and al-Yamina on a Horse; Two Horsemen, Painted on glass — Two Reverse Glass Paintings: Abdallah and al-Yamina on a Horse; Two Horsemen
possibly 1950s–60s

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