Nejad Melih Devrim (1923–1995)

Un artiste affranchi de l’École de Paris

Abstract

The artistic itinerary of Nejad Melih Devrim (1923–1995), a Turkish artist who settled in Paris in 1946, raises questions about his relative oblivion in France despite a promising career. An actor in the “new trends” of post-war Parisian art, he often embodied a synthesis between Turkish artistic traditions and the modernity of the École de Paris, an orientalist reading of his work that reduces it to a simple fusion of Western and Byzantine influences. However, his career, marked by his cosmopolitan location and his choice of exhibitions abroad, bears witness to a more personal and independent style. Despite gaining recognition in Paris and taking part in numerous salons, his departure for Poland in 1968 marked the beginning of his oblivion in France. Although his work is being rediscovered, notably at the Centre Pompidou, it remains relevant to reevaluate Nejad Melih Devrim's place in a globalized art history, taking into account his cosmopolitan context.